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The new Garmin Edge 520: Everything you ever wanted to know

Today Garmin announced their latest bike computer, the Edge 520 – priced at $299USD. This GPS-enabled unit instantly becomes the most advanced bike computer that Garmin has ever released, adding support for a flotilla of new features. But fear not, owners of the Edge 1000/810/510 and even last week’s Edge 25 are getting some of these new features too.

What’s new in the Edge 520:

As I noted earlier, this is without question the most new features we’ve ever seen come to a bike computer – Garmin or otherwise. It’s like they’ve been saving up for the past 6 years since the release of the original Edge 500, and decided to cash out in one big swoop. Some of the below have been added to other product lines (i.e. the Edge 1000), yet others are new altogether. So I’m sorta using the Edge 500/510 as the baselines, and noting when and where there are variances.

Now, there are a few things that have been missing from various recent Garmin units, so I double-checked to see if those were there. They are as follows:

– ANT+ Weight Scale support was kept – Sharing of files between units directly was kept – Auto Lap by Position is present/kept

Phew, I think that about covers it. Well, I hope it does anyway, if not, just drop a specific feature into the comments section and I can clarify.

Before we get into all the details, here’s a video walk-through I’ve put together of the Edge 520. It covers pretty much all of the major new features and lets you see how you interact with the device:

From here let’s dig into some of the major features. I’ll of course go into much more detail in my eventual In-Depth Review, which is typically about 30-45 days after the unit starts shipping – once I have final production hardware and firmware.

Basic Use and Menus:

Let’s start off with a few of the basics on use of the Edge 520. First is that the unit has a slew of buttons, and is not touchscreen. The buttons are as follows:

It’ll take a tiny bit of time getting used to the different buttons if you’ve come from other devices (even Garmin devices), most notably the lap and start buttons being on the bottom of the device.

Next, the home screen is aligned vertically in that you go up/down to the various functions. In the middle you’ve got ‘Ride’, which is where you start a ride. Down one option is all of the training and settings functions – such as following a course, doing a structured workout, or controlling a trainer. As well as the settings menu.

Meanwhile, if you scroll up you’ll get to the ‘Status’ menu. This menu shows aspects like screen brightness, GPS signal strength, sensor connectivity and mobile phone status.

To start a ride, we’ll just select the ‘Ride’ button. From here it’ll ask us what Activity Profile to use. Activity Profiles were introduced with the Edge 510/810, and were designed to allow you to group settings such as data page configuration into a tidy bundle. In my case, I’ve got a default Train option, and then a custom one I created called ‘Strava’.

After selecting a profile you’ll be brought to the familiar data screen page. Meanwhile, the GPS chip goes off and finds satellites.

You can of course customize these pages with up to 10 data fields per page, and up to 5 pages (+ the Map, Compass, Elevation, Lap Summary, Virtual Partner, and Cycling Dynamics pages). Here’s a few pages:

New to the Edge 520 is a bit of a quick access menu, which is accessible by pressing the upper right button. This will bring up options for configuring in-ride settings, such as alerts, data fields and the elevation. As well as the Status menu/page we talked about a few paragraphs ago.

In addition to the regular data pages, you’ll also have pages you can enable for Garmin Cycling Dynamics (Vector/Vector2 users), as well as the new map page:

Post-ride there are some new metrics that haven’t previously been seen or offered on the Edge series. For example, you’ve got recovery time. This started with the Garmin Forerunner series and has expanded to the triathlon watches:

In addition, within the training options you can now automatically track your FTP levels, as well as perform an FTP test. Pretty cool.

When it comes to riding the Edge, it’ll act pretty much like any other Garmin Edge device from a basics standpoint. The unit has a quarter-turn mount on the back of it, so it’s completely compatible with any other Garmin Edge mount out there (including 3rd party ones):

Looking at 3rd party out-front mounts, some of you have asked about how well it might fit with the bottom buttons and pressing them. I grabbed three random mounts from my collection to try out: The Garmin forward mount, a K-Edge mount, and a Barfly mount. Below are photos in a small gallery of all of them.

Now – here’s what actually matters: Whether or not the mount is set ‘down’, or is ‘level’. For example, in the K-Edge mount you’ll see it puts the unit down lower, which means the buttons get closer to the handlebars. Whereas with the Garmin mount it’s equal in height to the bars – so there’s no button issues.

That said, in all three that I tried, I didn’t have any real issues with pressing the buttons. It might be a tad bit trickier with the sunken mounts in a sprint or something to press it, but overall not hard. Of course, there are tons of mount variations from each company (meaning a dozen each from Barfly, K-Edge, etc…). So you’ll kinda have to use a bit of testing on any given specific model and your bike to see whether/where it fits.

Additionally, Garmin has gone with a micro-USB port for charging and data sync. Note that the unit does NOT have an additional Micro-SD card slot though, so you can’t expand the storage.

But you can also sync via Bluetooth Smart to your mobile phone (iOS/Android). With this additional phone connectivity you gain the ability to see text messages and phone notifications directly on the Edge 520.

You can of course turn this functionality off as you see fit. Finally note that the Edge 520 doesn’t have WiFi within it, compared to the Edge 1000 which does.

Strava Segment Integration:

If past posts are any indication, the most desired sports tech feature out there is the ability to have Strava segments display live/real-time status on one’s Garmin Edge device. And now, that’s possible. With the Edge 520, Garmin has enabled the ability to race against various Strava leaderboard records directly on the Garmin Edge device itself.

This means you’ll get status updates as you ride the individual Strava segments, such as how far ahead and behind the record your chasing:

You can specify a number of different records, be it in the KOM (King of the Mountain aka Course Record), or records of your friends, or your personal best. Additionally, you can also race against your goals for a given segment.

Now, to be clear – Garmin is not the first company to introduce this. Others (primarily apps) have had functionality like this previously. For example, 4iiii introduced it two years ago. Still, for most people it’s having it on the Edge that they’ve been waiting for.

In order to give you a bit more detail on this feature – I’ve put together a standalone post where I walk through the entire process step by step of how it works. You can view that here.

Oh, and one last thing: This is coming to not just the Edge 520, but also the Edge 510, Edge 810, and Edge 1000 – with a firmware update planned for Q3 (by the end of September).

ANT+ Trainer Control:

Next up we’ve got another new feature, the ability to control your electronic trainer directly from the Edge 520. This allows you to set the resistance of trainers that support the semi-new ANT+ FE-C standard. The FE-C (Fitness Equipment Control) standard enables trainer companies to allow apps and devices to set the wattage and other parameters on a bike trainer. Only certain trainers support this functionality today, with the first units being the Tacx Smart Trainers that enabled support about three weeks ago (you can read all about that here).

Since then numerous apps have added support, including Zwift, TrainerRoad, Kinomap and others. Additionally, other companies including Elite have stated plans for supporting it within their trainers.

As for the Edge 520, it allows you to search for and pair to an ANT+ Trainer:

Then from there you can go ahead and complete tasks such as the normal calibration/roll-down that’s usually done by most trainer apps:

This would then report back a success or failure:

After that you’ve got a few options when it comes to your rides. These are as follows:

– Follow an activity: This takes a past workout and allows you to re-ride it, simulating the elevation/incline in real time – Follow a course: This allows you to ride a downloaded course (such as a race, route, or anything else), and changes elevation/incline in real time – Follow a workout: This allows you to ride a downloaded workout (created on Garmin Connect), where it’ll automatically change the resistance for each segment of the workout – Specify Resistance: This will specify a given resistance level – Specify Target Power: This is simple: You set a wattage value (i.e. 250w) and the trainer will keep that wattage

The cool thing about this is that it’ll mean you can easily re-ride a given workout or race course. That’s often ideal if you’re trying to learn pacing of effort on a specific route. And no additional software is required to do so.

Same goes for riding a workout, it’ll instantly change the power to whatever you’ve specified within the Garmin Connect workout file:

Here you can see the same thing on the Garmin Edge 520:

In talking with Wahoo Fitness, they have confirmed they will add supporting the ANT+ FE-C standard to the development roadmap for the Wahoo KICKR and KICKR SNAP. Given the announcement just happened, they are working to narrow down an exact date for implementation of that profile. But from their perspective they noted they are super-excited about this.

As for other trainer companies, I’ll update this page/section here once companies confirm additional support of the FE-C profile.

(Update: Garmin has confirmed the Edge 1000 will receive FE-C support/control in/by Q4. It will not be added to the Edge 510/810.)

Mapping Included:

The Edge 520 includes what is known as a ‘Basemap’. For those that have been around the Garmin block a few times, you’ll know that this map is fairly sparse. But a map it is. For example, in all of Paris it only shows about…well..three streets. Oh, and the river (seen above). The main goal of this map is to give you some rough perspective on where you are compared to the Edge 500/510 where it’s just a blank page/canvas.

Now at first you might be in the camp of not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, but wishing for a bit more. Well good news, through the same steps that I’ve outlined in in the past, you can download free (and highly detailed) maps of your choosing to the unit (note: I’ve updated that post with the Edge 520-specific instructions). These maps are from Openstreet, and are community sourced. They are the exact same maps you’ll find on the Garmin Edge 1000 and Edge Touring units (as well as on Polar’s V650). Again, this isn’t done on the Garmin website, but a 3rd party – but it’s silly easy to follow and works beautifully.

Due to the available space on the Edge 520, you won’t be able to download a massive map area, but you can cover your usual riding territory and if you were touring you could easily cover a day or two and then reload. On a stock Edge 520 there’s approximately 54MB of free space. For reference, the area of Paris and most of the surrounding areas is 21MB:

Or, looking at Washington DC, this area is 35MB:

And the (much greater) Sydney, Australia and area is 37MB:

All of these easily fit within the 51MB of free space, plus have plenty of space for ride files afterwards. The back of the napkin calculation for activity file space is .1MB per hour of riding (with GPS & ANT+ sensors). So 10 hours = just 1MB. You can use the site to figure out how much space is needed, just follow the instructions in my original post and manually select tiles.

With this said, it’s important to note that the unit does NOT do routable directions though. Meaning, it won’t tell you to ‘Turn left on Maple Street’, but rather instead give you breadcrumb style tracks overlaid onto these maps. Additionally, because it’s not routable, it won’t be able to give you directions across town. Thus there is no point of interest database or similar.

The best way to think of this is that if you’re looking to be able to create directions on the fly during your ride, the Edge 810/1000 are far better options. But, if you just want to know where you are on the map and be able to zoom around to figure out where you’re going – this will work quite well.

Product Comparison Charts:

I’ve added the Edge 520 to the product comparison database, which means you can compare it against any other GPS bike computer I’ve reviewed. For the purposes of the below, I’ve added the Garmin Edge 500, Edge 510, and Edge 520, since that’s likely the cross section of products people would be comparing against.

Remember, you can mix and match any products you’d like within the product comparison database, allowing you to create your own comparison charts.

Summary:

For those of you that are regular readers, you’ll know well that I’ve been pretty hard on the Garmin Fitness team when it comes to the Garmin Edge devices over the past few years. In my review of the Edge 510 device two years ago, I noted how the device fell far short of expectations. And with the Edge 1000 unit, I noted that it was largely a device that nobody asked for. Today however, I think it’s a case of ‘3rd time’s the charm’, and the Edge 520 is almost exactly what folks have been asking for.

The features are precisely what I and many others have wanted, in terms of aspects like Strava integration, direct trainer control, and baseline mapping. Plus a smaller size than the existing Edge 510.

Now there’s no doubt always room for improvement. For example, I’d really like to see Bluetooth Smart sensor support, and I think this might have actually been the rare case where touch screen support might have made sense (due to aspects like controlling trainer wattage). Or the lack of WiFi is a bit peculiar, as is the lack of Connect IQ support. But on the whole, for most users this device will hit the spot.

For me personally, assuming the final software and hardware isn’t buggy – I expect this device to become my mainstay bike computer, replacing the large number of Edge 810 and Edge 1000’s that I use on a day to day basis on my handlebars in various tests (most notably power meter tests where I run concurrent units). The size being the most appealing aspect, combined with the connectivity.

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Support the site: Found what you read above useful? If so – then you can support the site here by ordering the Edge 520 via Clever Training. They’re accepting pre-orders for the unit, which Garmin says will ship in “Q3” (between now and Sept 30th) – though its expected to likely start shipping much sooner in late July. They have both the base unit, as well as the bundle unit available, which can be selected from the drop-down list. In addition, if you’re a member of the DCR/CT VIP Program – you’ll save a bundle as well!

Hi, just wondered if there were some images of the Edge 520 with an out front mount – I received my 520 yesterday and immediately came across the mount issue. I’m using FSA Plasma bars and stem and can only use the 520 by turning it onm, then fitting it to the mount. On another bike I have a K-Edge mount and that mounts the 520 is so low you can’t get at the buttons – shame they mounted the buttons there, possibly the worst place unless you use the standard mounts which are way too high for me. Hopefully someone will come up with an aftermarket mount to resolve these issues

Just located the out front images – on these the comments are spot on! With an out front mount which holds the 520 above the bars, no issues, but unless you have the K-edge adjustable and it’s adjusted as far out as it will go, you can’t get at the buttons! I have no idea what i’m going to do with on my FSA Plasma’s as having the 520 stuck way out front just doesn’t look good, but that seems to be the only way to access those buttons. I wish Garmin hadn’t done that, they don’t seem to have on any other models!

Hi Ray, bought this unit after reading your post. Took it for a test ride earlier today and so far it seems like a really great unit! However I got one issue I haven’t been able to solve or find a solution for. Perhaps you have run into this as well.

I loaded a workout from Garmin Connect to the unit. To start off I am to do a simple warm up of 140-170 watts. However I keep getting prompted with a notification saying my power is to low and needs to be above 200. I have checked that the zones on the unit is the same as in Garmin Connect and I can’t seem to figure out whats going on. Have you experienced anything similar?

Massive 510 price drop coming? This thing is newer, more features (base map, among others) and introduced at a lower price. Seems like a possible winner here…

I think I know the answer, but I’ll ask anyway :). As a fenix 3 user I still like a dedicated bike gps unit for riding. To use the edge 520 in live track or BT to phone mode I would need to turn off BT on my fenix because Connect for iOS cannot talk to 2 devices simultaneously… Correct?

I have a Fenix 2 that suffice for my training and tracking purpose, I am searching for something more bike centric and exploring and just yesterday i was looking at the garmin 810. This news make me wonder if there is a 820 around the corner.

This unit is almost everything that I need right now, i will be waiting your review, I smell a xmas gift for myself (how selfish)

This doesn’t do any re-routing or device-created routes (even though it may have maps loaded)… so I don’t think what you described is an issue they would have needed to resolve? This must be an issue for you on an Edge 800, 810, or 1000?

It’s my mates 810 ( i have an 800) If you load a course up, say provided by a sportive you are doing. Often the route will have “loops” on them to make up the distance, the 810 always tries to navigate you between the start and end of the loop, thus avoiding it, becuase its the shorter way to go. We’ve turned off the re calculate and other routing settings we can find, but it always tries to send you the way it wants and not the way the course goes. It’s a fairly common issue as it’s mentioned alot in the garmin forum

Hi Ray, I pre-ordered a 520 and I’m going thru your OpenStreets map install instructions. When I connect the 520 via USB, will I need to create a “Garmin” folder? Or would I just drop the map file into the root directory? Thx.

You are correct. Strava as a social network is free, but as a business model they have to generate revenue somewhere I suppose. It’s a neat feature, but that’s fair to charge for. Ridewithgps charges for automatic cued ride uploads, keeps the lights on.

Exactly! I’m sure this will sell like hotcakes, but I love the large screen and turn-by-turn navigation on my 800, so am eagerly anticipating an updated 820!

2015 is looking to be a landmark year for Garmin in the fitness sector, with a complete overhaul of their wearables lineup at the start of the year and now this. It’s great to see them take on board user’s feedback.

Not sure. That said, it’s highly unusual for Garmin to announce Fitness products mid-summer. Typically bike products are announced at Eurobike/Interbike, which are the last week of August and mid-September.

A week before the tdf seems a logical time. Likely that the Garmin Cannondale team and others will be using it, so it would almost certainly be spotted. SRAM announced their wirelss shifting at the Giro for the same reason

It seems like the 8×0 line is being marginalized to me. The 520 does everything that the 1000 does except turn by turn (and no touch screen) I believe? What would there be left in the middle for an 820 to do? Wouldnt it just end up being a 1000, maybe with a smaller screen?

I have the 800 and just got the 520, the usable screen size on both units are exactly the same. However the 520’s screen has much more definition. I added the base map to my 520 and do not miss any features from the 800, and also prefer the much smaller overall size.

Correct, no bike profiles. Instead you have what’s called a ‘sensor pool’ where you specify all the different sensors you have on all the bikes you have. Then, as you start to ride it just automatically picks up the right sensors and you’re good to go.

If you want different settings (like views/options/etc…), you can setup what are known as activity profiles. You could potentially overlay those on top of the bikes you have, or perhaps different activities (i.e. training, racing, mountain biking, etc…).

HALELUJAH! I have been cursing Garmin for nearly 6yrs now they couldn’t/wouldn’t do a software update to the 500 or even 510 to have them auto-recognize the different speed-cadence sensors on each of my bikes. It takes 14 (!!!) button-pushes to change bike profiles on a Garmin 500. Sounds like one of Garmin’s engineers may have finally gotten around to testing the 500 series in the field… Anyhow, auto-bike-recognition & backloaded maps on the 520? Sign me up!

Ray, what if I have a PM and speed sensor on 2 bikes in the same room. For example, I have a road bike and a TT bike. Both have a PM and a speed sensor. If I were to move one bike off my indoor trainer and move the other bike on in prep to do a ride, the sensors of both bikes may be “awake”. How would the 520 handle this?

It simply asks you if you’d like to switch to the newly awakened sensor (you can give the sensors names).

For example, on my Edge 1000, I’ve got a slew of power meters, of which 3-4 may be on a single bike at once. I just press yes/no as to whether or not I want connect to a given PM. Or, I can force it to a specific one. Or further yet, I can temporarily enable/disable specific sensors.

Any idea if this has the same issues as the edge 500 / 510 / 810 where as soon as the weather goes bad the barometric sensor goes to hell and elevation goes screwy? That’s the only issue I have ever had with Garmin other than that I’m probably going to buy this anyway..

When “the weather goes bad”, the barometric pressure changes, sometimes dramatically. Since the 500/510/520/etc. altimeters are based on barometric pressure, that’s going to affect your on-device elevations. No way around that.

If you know exact elevation points for common starting locations, that can be entered via System->GPS->Set Elevation. But that doesn’t help when a low pressure system blows in mid-ride… Most of the sites like RWGPS, etc. have elevation correction, but only after the fact.

Local weather temperature is just an average across weather stations. Your local reading can be way off without it being actually wrong.

My experience, however anecdotal, is that for my area the national weather service correlates rather well with my readings whereas AccuWeather (used on Endomondo) is notoriously unreliable. The local airport information (used on Garmin Connect) is usually spot on but occasionally have some strange wind readings. My Fenix 2, Edge and Tempe all seem to agree with my running nose :-).

ConnectIQ as it stands is dying on the vine and Garmin knows it. Much like giving up on Garmin Segements by acknowledging Strava leads, I think you’ll see more realism out of Garmin trying to work with major app platforms on Android and iOS rather than create their own.

It’s like the 510 essentially. Maybe a little easier to read as far as text size but not very bright. On the plus side, I’ve usually left the backlight on at 100% and the battery only seems to go down about 10% per hour.

Exactly what they should have brought out with the 510. No pointless touch screen, proper Bluetooth low energy integration with phone. I actually bought a 510 recently but I’m not really worried. However, if I had not, I would definitely be choosing the 520 instead.

The polar may be cheaper but their website is far inferior to garmin connect (of course this is my opinion). Although the hardware may be similar, I still think e superior features of the garmin justify the extra cost.

Of course Polar could up their game on the software side and then the V650 would be the compelling choice.

I’d recommend against trying to jump in the first wagon. Recent Garmin products seem to suffer from teething issues a lot… Epix as an example – it’s still unusable. Thus I consider 520 as a good Christmas gift.

This is billiant news. It’s not often that Garmin offer upgrades to older models that increase functionality, but I would really like to know If I am in a strava segmant how I am doing against my pb (I don’t think I will trouble amy koms). Does it report time behind/ahead like virtual racer?

Great write up. With regard to the Strava Segment, as you’re riding will it compare your time with the record holder’s at that precise point or does it just average the record holders time over the segment length?

Comes with, but you can put City Nav or the 24k TOPO and actually use them, since the 1000 can navigate via map if the map is routable. I use the 24k TOPO’s on my 800 and would move them to a 1000 if I got it. It wouldn’t be feasible with the 520.

reminds of the galaxy s look with chrome around the outside, very nice,Im glad they went with strava segments, the garmin segments are dodgy at best, half of time they are missed, or dont show up, sometimes they take days to update, where strava is pretty instant, its a shame you have to subscribe to strava to get live segments.

Probably just means it won’t do automatic routing (ie you can’t tell it to take you to an location and have it figure out the best route). If you have created a full course that includes turn information, I would expect that to still work the same.

Hi. What about the buttons. How are the quality location and so on. I use the 510 for XC MTB races and desperately lack buttons to select the page I want to see. Swiping the display or pressing it or trying to hit a virtual button is just a pain in the “behind” need real buttons with proper feedback. Looks cool.

My 510 is completely buggy. Almost never syncs as it should. It does record the workouts and then syns next time I turn it on, the next day, or the next week. I’ve contacted garmin support multiple times. They just say to make sure the hardware is up to date. This has been happening continually in the ~2 years I had it. Much prefer my old 705, which fell off on a ride and died. Based on my 510 experience I have given up on Garmin. I can just record via strava on my phone (and soon on Apple Watch.) If I was getting a new bike computer today, I’d probably get the new Polar you recently reviewed. The 520 sounds promising…if it proves reliable.

I have been tinkering with a polar V800, but Garmin just seems to work better for me. These new features are a brilliant announcement which really mean I will most likely stay in the garmin camp. Heck with my polar it doesn’t even sync activities to strava automatically.

Any Idea when (or even if) they will add this support? I recall that the edge 1000 unit has a chip capable of supporting it, but I saw no software upgrade thus far… (and that keeps me from buying an edge unit)

I was just about to order an Edge 1000, it was in the basket, ready to checkout, when I read this article.

If it could get ANT+ FE-C control, that would mean I’ll buy it. If it can’t then I’ll have to wait. That said, a potential Edge 820 would tick all the boxes I need – I know you can’t say, but should I wait?

Hi Ray – this looks just what I’ve been looking for! Do you know much about the VO2max and recovery features? I thought I saw something that they need a power input to be used but the run watches have the same feature without “Run Power” – any idea how thats going to work or if it can work with out a PM? Thanks, Andy.

On the 920XT you need a power meter and HR data to get a cycling VO2 Max. For running it is HR and a pace from GPS. I believe it is the same on other devices that have this e.g. Fenix 3, 620 (running only)

Hi Ray, As always, very much appreciate all the effort you put into your reviews and updates. The Garmin 520 has been announced on the heels of the the Polar M450. They’re two seemingly highly accomplished releases that are swimming at the same market level in terms of features. Will you be doing a head to head on these two devices as clearly it’s going to be tough decision for consumers? Thanks!

Sorry Steve but given the ongoing dramas Polar M400 users (myself included) are having with their USB connections, no current Polar Flow > Strava integration, etc, I really don’t see it being a tough decision at all. After a long wait, my wife’s and my Edge 500s will finally be getting their retirement soon….. :o)

I see your point amphestijn and it was with that value viewpoint that had me buy an M400 after Rays review. That said, if your bargain €159/219 device takes a whole load of stuffing around to (or just plain won’t) connect via usb i.e. upload, update or charge after a few months and doesn’t do what the opposition do (at admittedly more cost), then it’s no longer such a bargain. Fool me once (actually twice, I owned a X-Trainer too), shame on you. Fool me twice,…. :o)

Finally, here is my next head unit. Never used turn by turn on the edge 800 anyway, just uploaded my course and had it visible on the map. Nice. Would have been even nicer if it comes out not after half the season is already gone though.

I have a polar V800, and although technically a very good product, in my opinion it is let down by polar flow, which isn’t a patch on Garmin connect.

Polar really now needs to start sorting its software out. At the moment you can’t compare the products because the Garmin have the advantage of Garmin connect and strava integration and polar’s software that doesn’t yet even automatically export activities to strava.

As far as Polar and Strava go, you can use “flow2strava” and easily get your polar activities to Strava….works great with my iPad even (and iPhone too). It’s not instant like Garmin, but pretty darn quick and easy.

I think their is a social aspect to this. If you consider that the Web portal is an integral part of the package and a fitness tracker is another typical option, it would make sense that the portal could keep eciting Polar users in the folks.

Do you think Polar could be holding out telling all the features they are going to release so that we are not complaining they are not here yet? Do you think Polar is going to get anywhere near the 520 in the future or should I sell while I might be able to get a few dollars out of the 650. ;(

No chance, they had their big media event. During which, they kinda struggled to explain the ‘new features’ from a timeline standpoint. I just don’t see any scenario where they’re hiding a bunch of extra new features while still struggling to get the last flottilla of promised features out.

Sorry, I don’t quite understand your second comment here – are you saying it’ s near impossible for the V650 to compete against the Edge 520 right now (or something different)? Notwithstanding the price difference and once the V650 has maps? I was waiting for the M450, having abandoned Mio, but the Garmin is tempting. I wish Polar would add in temperature display.

Correct, I’m saying that the V650 is just sliding backwards in competitiveness with the Edge 520. For example, yes, the V650 will get maps – but not the ability to send courses to it.

Or, the V650 has limited power meter support, while the 520 has wide power meter support. Or all of the smaller features that are on the Edge 520 that are lacking on the V650. These are most easily seen using the comparison charts, but there are just so many others that aren’t seen there as they are tinier.

Sorry if you have already commented on this, but….I’m wondering, with all the devices that you have tested and continue to test, which device would you recommend and why? Like most tech purchases, we the consumer are usually hesitant, because we are always waiting for the latest and greatest. I’m leaning towards the 520. Thanks for time

I think there’s a reason they’re called bike COMPUTERS vs gps WATCHES. For starters, it seems like almost the entirety of this live segments stuff is missing for the watch counterparts or implementation is kludged for a while. Admittedly, user interface is a lot tougher on a watch, and of course biking has this whole social aspect that isn’t as pronounced with runners at least (you’re more likely to see a pack of bikers than runners). But, what I was really saying is the depth of this implementation just reminds me in general how the ultimate and perfect watch really doesn’t exist yet. I don’t want to hijack the thread or leave anybody hanging so in brief: richer app ecosystem with ways to come up with far better watch-resident apps, activity tracking, ABC, glonass, optical HRM, wifi, backlight choices, rugged shell (like tactix), at that point sapphire gets thrown in too. (Some watches have some of this, and I admit the price point starts to head toward $1,000!…)

Garmin’s “In the Box” page for the 520 Bundle lists “Cadence Sensor” and “Speed Sensor” separately. Can you confirm that this means the bundle will include the newer, separate accelerometer-based units instead of the classic magnetic reed-switch(?) combo unit?

This sounds like the refresh I’ve been waiting for to jump into the Garmin camp.

You mean that even there are no bike profiles I nevertheless can see individual mileage, individual riding time (important for me e.g. change of tyres, chain, … , loading of powermeter/replacing batterie, …)

If I understood right this is now stored in the speed sensor of the bike???

Anyway – over all it sounds great. And – I’m really looking forward for your review of this new powermeter!!!

There are two areas in connectivity I wanted to see updated but I haven’t seen any evidence of; one hardware and one firmware.

In the firmware side, I wanted there to be more Bluetooth connectivity. I want to have the ability to pair my unit with both my phone AND my office/home desktop PC. My 510 pairs with my phone, but when I looked further it can only pair with one device – my phone and only my phone. I can’t add a second device to pair it with. Does the 520 fix this?

Secondly, I’m trying to do away with cable clutter on my desks. I keep a spare Garmin mount attached to my monitor support so that when I’m not riding it’s somewhere safe. For me, to have an inductive charging mount would be fantastic! I could have a desktop, USB powered inductive charging mount that’ll keep my Garmin safe, will keep it ever ready and avoids having to open the weather seal on the back.

I could finish a ride, mount the Garmin on the inductive charging mount, auto-pairs with the PC, I go for a shower and see Strava already updating and I know my Garmin will be fully charged for the next ride. That would be perfect! More important than text messages from my wife asking why my 4 mile commute is now 12 miles………

Just because Garmin doesn’t recommend it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. They would of course prefer you to buy a new unit once the lithium battery has had it :)link to youtube.com Not even soldered in… just a little clip.

I have the 800. One of my biggest gripes is pairing. When I start my Garmin at a big race or rally, it won’t pair with my hear rate monitor as it’s getting too many signals from other riders. Is there anything about the new 520 that would aleviate this? I’ve always thought (maybe incorrectly) the only way to resolve this is for Garmin to create a device that would pair via bluetooth instead of just ANT. Is this correct or not? If it is, then it’s dissapointing they wouldn’t integrate more bluetooth connectiviity with the 520.

What you’re describing is the default situation on an Edge where it has only ever done a wildcard search for the HRM and it’s never actually stored the ANT ID, or the situation where you navigate to the HRM sensor menu and select “Search for sensor”.

Check to see if the ANT ID for your heart rate monitor (under Sensor Details) is zero. If it is, put on your HRM and then select ‘Search’ on the Edge. When the Edge reports finding the HRM, back out of the menus to the main screen and then power cycle the Edge. When you next recheck the ANT ID, the value should be non-zero, and you should NOT use “search” to connect to the HRM unless you change HRMs to a different strap. The Edge will find and pair with your HRM automatically when you put it on.

Thanks for your superb review, Ray. I loved the routing function on the Edge 200 which allowed me to plot my course, choose the distance of warnings before turns and set the speed of the virtual partner on BRT. When the 200 broke after almost 3 years I upgraded to the Edge 500. However, while the routing function still exists the course constantly disappears with the unit posting “course lost” and then again “course found” messages frequenlty. Is this kind of routing available on the 520 and if “yes” as reliable as on the 200?

I was ready to sell my edge 810, which is a POS, until you got the point where the storage was only about 50 Mb. That’s absolutely awful of Garmin to do especially since storage is so cheap and they don’t even provide a micro SD card slot – get real Garmin. This is nothing short of planned obsolescence. I wouldn’t touch this device with a ten foot pole.

Two questions: 1). For the profiles, can you setup one with GPS off by default? That is, if I create an “Indoor Trainer” profile, can I set this up so when I select it GPS is turned off.

2). Can it read speed from a trainer like my Kickr? I have a Edge 800, and it doesn’t pickup speed from the Kickr. Would be a nice feature to have so I could use my Garmin to record all rides, not just outdoor.

1) You can actually now configure the Edge 520 on a per activity profile base, including GPS off. Kinda neat. :) 2) Actually, the Edge 800 does receive speed from the KICKR, it pairs it as a power meter. Same goes here with the Edge 520.

It’s not terribly useful in the way it was implemented in the Edge 510. That said, there are certain features in the Edge 520 – notably trainer control – where it would have made more sense. For example, simply tapping the upper or lower portions of the screen to increase/decrease resistance on demand. Otherwise, in manual mode you have to go through a bunch of menus each time.

In the winter with thick gloves I can see a problem on the 520. Any chance you could test it out? I haven’t had my 510 long enough to use it in the winter. However I imagine the touch screen interface is superior in the winter.

I think that’s what he meant Ray, the 510 which IS would be superior in winter (wearing gloves). When Garmin released the first computer with touch screen I thought it was marketing BS. But I’ve now had one for years and I actually really like it. And now they get rid of it again ;-)

Hi Ray, thanks for another great review I have one question…..I see the battery lasts 15h what if you are riding longer? Will it continue working with an OTG cable? or like some others will display charging but continue to record?

I don’t know for sure, but I’ve seen information on other websites that said you can plug the 520 into a charger (not a computer) and it will keep operating instead of going into data mode. I think one of those small cell phone portable charger/battery things is what they were referring to. They said you just have to be aware that when you unplug the charger, the unit asks you if you want it to shut down, and you have to say “No.” I also wonder if plugging it into a hub-based charger will keep it charged and operating while you ride. Maybe someone else can confirm?

Looks awesome. Really like the feature where it can control an ANT+ trainer such as a Wahoo Kickr…seen as I have just bought one. One thing I note is that it is being marketed as being able to receive text and call notifications the same as the 1000. Now i have an iphone6 plus running the latest version of IOS. Now for the life of me…I’ve yet been successful in managing to pair the iPhone via the bluetooth smart option to receive these alerts. From the various forums I have read online…hardly anyone has ever been able to do this. I have no issue pairing with my phone to sync the rides or use Live Track. The text notifications/ call alerts feature has just simply never worked. Has anyone ever sorted this?

I am guessing the KICKR will need a software update from Wahoo (TBD if they will do it, and when) before this could control it. This is using the ANT+ trainer control “standard” and Wahoo has not adopted that yet (see the KICKR SNAP post for a few notes in this area).

How about GPS accuracy? My biggest grief with Garmin devices since (and especially with) Edge 500 was unreliable/inaccurate GPS. Even average phone stuck in a pocket does better job of tracking on average. I hear that 510/810/1000 improved it a bit, but not too much. I’m currently on navi2coach, and comparing tracks it records with any track recorded by my friends using Garmin devices, the difference is obvious. Especially when climbing up in the hills. If Garmin fixed GPS accuracy issues in newest generation of devices they make, I might consider giving brand another try.

The 510 which always had GLOSNASS has been a champ at accuracy, never ever seen anything better. In heavy tree cover nothing has out performed it. The 810 isn’t close. The 520 has GLOSNASS and I suspect it will be great.

My Edge 500 is getting older and having some physical/functional problems so was thinking about replacing it with a 510. I was on the phone a few times with Garmin support a few weeks ago and said, “I am thinking about purchasing a 510 but it’s been around a few years, now. DO you have a an “updated” version- e.g., a 520- coming out any time in the near future?” I asked this of at least 2 different supports techs and was assured that “there absolutely was nothing new coming out that” they were aware of. Glad I waited on buying a 510. The BT smartphone notifications and BT data uploads are two of my favorite features of the Fenix 3. Very happy to see they will be on 520. Will order one from CT TODAY. Thanks Ray.

Looks like a nice device, but not really much of an upgrade from my 510 really. Especially as the 510 is getting some of the features – plus I’m not a premium user of Strava as I don’t really see the value.

Awesome review. If you have both the 920xt and 520 running during the ride, and have each synced with your phone, will each sync with garmin connect such that your garmin connect profile and Strava double count the workout? Or is the system smart enough to know they are the same workout? Thanks.

Edge 510. I’ve still got it on my list to double-check the Edge 500 with Pioneer – but in theory it should do L/R just fine with the Pioneer as it does for other L/R units (I know you mentioned you were seeing oddities).

I just noticed on the Garmin website, under the “in the box” tab, that the unit comes with the extended out front mount, both with the bundle and device only. Looks like the same mount in the pictures you added, so the device doesn’t sit flush with the bar, but a little above.

I noticed you said there are maps included on this unit, and not just a blank white screen – I’m curious if this review was for a full production model or a beta model? The Garmin website says there are no basemaps or ability to add maps to the 520.

When will it actually be available? Halfway through yesterday’s ride, I looked down, and my Garmin 800 wasn’t attached to my barfly!! It was there at 50km, when I looked at 60km, it was gone! No idea what happened. The Garmin shopping site says it *could * be 3-4 weeks… any insight or advice on how I can get one soonest appreciated!

I wonder if their tie in with the Tour de France has influence on their scheduling here? It’s already been said that some teams are going to be using 520s during the race, so probably no coincidence that it’s been announced a few days before the race starts, and hopefully shipping just after the race finishes?

BTW; I like how big manufacturers like Garmin and Wahoo are basically using you as their method of product announcement, for someone who does this part time, that’s a massive achievement, kudos.

If I’ve done my sums right then the 520 has a dpi of 141 compared to the 510 which has 121. Which is 15% better resolution, on a screen which is 11% bigger.

Not massive changes but I found that the screen on the 510 was a little small (esp compared to the unit size) and the resolution a little fuzzy, hopefully these small changes are enough to make it much more usable.

Has the CPU been upgraded from the 510 unit ? If not mistaken 510 has a 208 MHz ARM946 within the STA8088EXG chip. Any chance the 510 gets the map function ? And just out of curiosity, is there any reason that Garmin eliminated the already miniscule 50MB storage of the 500 and 520 as well, to 20MB on the 510 ? Rather an indirect way of telling you “Get the 810 if you want mapping as well”

The 810 can’t really be considered the better version of the 520 any more tbh. I had one for a while and sent it back as the quality of the display was terrible. Not surprising when you consider that it has just 111dpi against the already poor 121dpi on the 510.

Whereas the new 520 has 141dpi which is still beaten by the 1000 with 156dpi and of course a considerably bigger screen.

Personally I was disappointed with the 810, now if Garmin were to come out with an 820 which was physically no bigger than the 810 but with a better screen and all the other new features like microUSB charging then that would certainly be the unit I would buy.

However it’s not clear if Garmin sees the 1000 as the replacement for the 810, which I hope it doesn’t as like others I think the Garmin 1000 is just crazily big.

Although turn-by-turn directions may not be a feature, I would imagine that services like those offered at bikeroutetoaster.com would still allow direction notifications to be displayed, right? At least it has done for my edge 500 and 800 in the past.

i made a comparison to edge 810 with your SUPERGOOD comparison tool/database. the new 520 is really a 810 in a much smaller housing and 25% price drop! perfect – so i’ll buy one to replace the 810. thanx for the review :)

Hi Ray, You mentioned in a DCR podcast with TRS Radio that very very soon there would be a European version of the Clevertraining discount. Any news on that? I would love to support you on my next tech purchase.

Indeed, I’m pretty excited about it as well. While we (the Royal We) to launch last week, it looks like the technical integration testing won’t yet be completed now till early August. They ran into a few more stumbling blocks. Definitely bummed. But hopefully it’ll be here soon (both them and I wish for that just as much as you!).

Thanks for another great, in-depth review, Ray! This is the first place I come to for cycling/running product reviews; been waiting for text/phone notifications — finally! I pre-ordered the 520 through CleverTraining VIP, saved $30! :D

Finally, the device we’ve been waiting for. I’m excited about the Strava integration of course, but I was very stoked when I saw the size of it too. The touch screen was nothing but trouble for me on the 510, so glad to see it go. A little disappointed in battery life at 15 hours. I’m thinking I could strap a USB battery, something like this: link to amazon.com, to my handlebars after 11 or 12 hours and let it charge for a couple laps during 24 hour races.

How is the screen? I needed to leave the light on for the Edge 510 to get visibility as good as my Edge 500.

Not exactly sure of your situation, here is my reasoning for going with the 520. 1. I generally like getting recently released devices, they will have a longer shelf life than something already a year old. 2. I am more interested in a smaller device and screen size. Nothing smaller than the size of the edge 500. 3. Maps are not super important to me. I think the 520 has less mapping features (I think) and smaller screen but that is not a big deal. 4. I have a Wahoo Trainer and Di2 on one bike so. I think the 520 will have more features for both of these technologies.

Not sure if this helps, Essentially I see the 520 as having a smaller screen size and fewer mapping features. Other than than better/newer features than the 810.

Pretty sure the 810 doesn’t have GLONASS. It seemed to be more of an 800 released with new graphics to coincide with the release of the all-new 510. That would be the biggest reason for me. Better accuracy. I hate when I try really hard on a segment and it doesn’t even show up that I did it, because it thought I was 50 yards away somewhere off the edge of a cliff or something. 810 is what, 4 years old now? I’d definitely go 520. I don’t even like how big my 510 is. Glad for something smaller. 510 connects to satellites a lot quicker than my 500 though, that’s another part of the reason I wouldn’t skip GLONASS.

What do you mean by this? The way the Edge 1000 and the 705 could share courses wirelessly directly between units? Just 520 to 520 or can it also do 520 to 1000? (As in show up to a ride and someone has the route on their garmin they could easily transfer it over to you) Will the 810 get this functionality?

Why still no magnet based gps? Would make following a course a bit better at complex intersections when stopped

Seems like the 520 will get features missing from the more expencive 810/1000 so any word on them being replaced or updated. (My 810 just got bricked so….)

Great review! i am super excited about the Ant+ FE-C control for the wahoo Kickr (assuming Wahoo provide a firmware update for this). As i understand it from the review, i’ll then before to load a previous course/activity/route and the Garmin will automatically control resistance on the Kickr for elevation/ inclines on the course. Would be great if there was some overlay mapping/route progress on the Garmin and/or Garmin Connect to show progress on the course as you rode it! ( iknow there are 3rd part apps which do this, but would be nice if integrated directly from Garmin)!

Thanks Ray. The 520 looks like a very nice all round unit for cyclists. Seems like Garmin are listening to their customers about features. Just hope they improve battery life in general for their devices in future as this is the one feature where they seem to be going backwards

I’d second that interest, and add some, to get to these five I’d like to see added to the 1000’s capabilities:

– VO2 Max Estimation (previously only on some newer Garmin units) – FTP tracking and testing – ANT+ FE-C Trainer Control – Time in zones (first seen on the FR920XT/Fenix3) – Recovery Advisor metrics (previously only on some Running/Tri units)

I’d hope that the 810 firmware update which adds all these features will also make the device function properly for the first time – no mid-ride crashes or lock-ups, functioning TBT navigation, reliable Bluetooth pairing, the option to disable all Garmin segment functionality/syncing… But I know better than to wish for anything from Garmin, really.

Bob. The list price might be £329.99 but its never been £329.99 anywhere in the UK. In fact its barely ever been over £300. Most places online sell it for £240.

I can’t justify buying this Garmin for £300 even if it does look good, its just £100 overprices for what it is and lets face it, despite the new features they aren’t ‘new’ in reality. A lot of these things were features that most cyclists who use computers were asking for years ago. It seems all that Garmin have done is listened to what people wanted ages ago, stuck it in a new case then had the cheek to price it at £300 thinking its ‘cutting edge. It isn’t.

The base model ie without sensors, will be £240 (Evans), with a minimum discount for a new model, perhaps £230. The Mio has been around for quite a while, and prices are falling as a result and you need to shop carefully to get the right map coverage (which is fixed and can’t be altered, for now at least).

It’s interesting – while many folks a year or so ago were flocking to the reduced price Mio’s, most are coming back. It’s all the silly/stupid/easy things they lack…lack laps for example (seriously, no option). And, the Mio you listed is massive – bigger than anything shown in this post by a huge chunk. It’s like a frisbee on your handlebars.

Which isn’t to say there’s not a market there – but I don’t think it’s competitive cyclists, or even weekend warriors. It’s folks looking to do touring that just care about getting from point A to point B.

Im confused DC. In your review of the 505 you state the unit is much more compact and acceptable for a map based GPS. Its certainly shorter than the Edge1000 and yet here youre now saying its built like a frisbee? So what is it? You also say it lacks stuff, but in the same review of the 505 you say its got some of the most advanced options on a cycling GPS. Again im confused. Then you finish by saying its purely for touring cyclists, despite it having virtualy all the functions (and more in some cases) than the Edge1000. So what is it mate? Does a product get a thumbs up or down depending if you got a blowjob in the morning? Only im about to buy a power meter soon based on your reviews but i dont want part with the best part of a grand on one that may or may not be any good based on the current condition of your ‘love spuds’. Make your mind up mate.

Since it appears that critical reading comprehension skills are challenging for you (and yet not the other combined 1,453 people who have commented on this and the Edge 1000 review), I’ll help simplify a bit.

First, there’s a concept called time. This represents days, months, and years. It’s ultimately why in the fall things get colder, and the summer hotter. Or why you might get slower on the bike as you age.

Ironically, it also applies to posts. See, posts made 16 months ago are different than posts made 1 month ago. Astoundingly – things actually change with this time concept. I know…challenging, right?

So, while Mio had many new tech features 16 months ago that Garmin units didn’t, they no longer have that advantage. In fact, if you look at the very first section of my Mio 505 post (not a review, btw, but again, reading comprehension) – you’ll note all but one of those features are available on Garmin units today. This also goes for features I later discuss in the post around touring.

Again, I never actually discussed the Edge 1000 in the Mio 505 post because…umm…oh that’s right – it was released before the Edge 1000 came out. But there it is again, the date and time thing. Tricky, right? I also never said the Mio 505 had less features than the Edge 1000 (FYI: It doesn’t), but also because again – that post was written before the Edge 1000 came out.

Finally, on sizing – it is indeed larger than the Edge 1000. But alas, we weren’t talking about the Edge 1000 here on this page or thread, we were talking about the Edge 520 (and my comment directly above that is in reference to that). I know, darn that comprehension already – such complex stuff.

That same complex comment also talks to some of the challenges people have seen with the Mio range over those last 16 months – but let’s not get wrapped up in time/dates again…wouldn’t want to confuse you more than already are.

Guys, really basic question and hoping to get some advice. I was just about to buy an EDGE 810. The 810 seems to offer touch screen and slightly bigger screen. Nice unit. It seems that Garmin will offer a firmware update in September or so. So big question, why should i wait for the Edge 520? What will the 520 be better at? What will i regret if I get the 820?

I see that both the 520 and the 510 are supposed to be able to DOWNLOAD COURSES/ROUTES FROM PHONE TO UNIT, at least according to the comparison chart. I have uploaded rides to my iPhone 6 , but would love to be able to download courses, (like a .tcx file) from the iPhone to the 510/520 before a ride, in case I forgot to plug in a route ahead of time. How is that done?

Are there directions on how to DOWNLOAD COURSES/ROUTES FROM PHONE TO UNIT. I generate tcx files with RidewithGPS all the time. I often put them into dropbox and would like to upload them to my Edge at the start of the ride from my iPhone rather than from my computer, which I rarely bring with to rides. Can that be done? If not what does the capability, DOWNLOAD COURSES/ROUTES FROM PHONE TO UNIT, mean?

I’ve used the 200 and presently using the 500. The 510 was not enough of a reason for me to upgrade, now I think I have.

One feature I asked Garmin about and they were not too interested in adding, is a Lap Altitude. Right now the only visible altitude is what you’ve ridden for the entire day, If you want to start a new lap at the base of a long mountain climb, it would be great to be able to see specific altitude just for that lap.

How much quicker do the Edge 510 and 520 acquire satellite lock than the Edge 500. I cannot count the number of times I’ve waited minutes for the Edge 500 to acquire a lock (downtown, near big buildings).

Ray, sorry for the double reply but I just picked up on a nuance of your wording. You said if you start from the same place. If you constantly alternate between two places, say 20KM apart (like my commute), does lock take longer?

A slight bit, but not much. On the newer devices, the unit is caching at multiple levels. First a pre-cache that happens globally with an offline database that’s stored for the next 7 days. Then a secondary ‘last position’ type of cache that basically stores the last known position of the unit. So if you go home, and then walk back outside – it’s super-fast. Same goes when you ride to work, work all day, and then walk back outside in the same spot.

But even with the global cache I’ve done tests of flying to China and getting lock in a few dozens seconds.

How usable are the front mounted buttons while riding? Not even with an out-front mount, but just with a quarter turn mount and o-rings, a pretty squishy setup that may not like to be pushed from one side of the unit without any hard surface to brace against like the handlebar or stem did for the top mounted buttons of previous devices.

Thank You for keeping everyone up to date on the new toys available. I don’t understand how you are able to stretch 30 hours out of a 24hr day to fit everything in.

My question is… Do you have any ideas how the 520 will function for hiking? I have been searching for an all in one that includes navigation ( Bread Crumb type at least ) that I can use to track hikes and cycling. I have seen Edge 820 users attempt to use the 820 for both, with no luck. They complain of lost data at low speeds.

An example situation would be camping for a weekend in the mtns. I would love to download maps to guide me biking through the woods for my morning shenanigans, then in the afternoon take the 520 ( or whichever GPS unit ) for a long hike to track where I wander. Any ideas?

From earlier reviews I know you sometimes talk to Garmin, so I am hoping you will pass “our” wishes on as well. I feel this thing is nearly perfect, however, dropping WiFi is a mistake in my opinion. Why? My 1000 is very unreliable synching via the phone. It works, but only “so so”. WiFi is just great: my rides are uploaded before I even enter the my front door. Both on my FR920 and my Edge 1000. Simply love it. It is reliable, quick and easy.

Dropping touchscreen is the way to go IMHO. Touchscreen with full gloves on a rainy day, really a good idea? No! It very often leads to a “grumpy me”.

So as soon as there is a 520 style computer with more memory and WiFi I guess it’s the computer everybody wants to have. Ah, and my last wish… it should be able to pick up heart rate from one of those optical watches :-)

Maybe this is a dumb question, but can I upload a gpx file to the Garmin Edge 520 and load it onto the screen and follow it while at the same time recording all my strava stats? I looked on the Garmin site and see that it says under memory “Routes 0” so this was concerning for me. I pull a lot of the routes I do off the internet of long rides I see others doing so I can just follow along their gpx track for 100-150 miles and if this unit can do that then I am sold! Just wondered why it says zero routes can be stored?

I currently have a 500 and am looking to upgrade. Which unit in your opinion, the 510 or the 520, seems better suited for racing? I am not to worried about some of the extra features, so it more comes down to which one would be better in a race. Thanks

Played a bit with the unit. I found the buttons way to stiff. It was a pre-production unit. It felt strange to apply a serious amount of force just to push the button. Could have been ‘exhibition effect’ though. Lots of people tried the unit before me. And gosh it’s thick… really thick!

Jay, that’s what I am waiting for also! These unit are useless to me if they don’t upload when I walk into my house after a training session. Imagine how much money garmin would make if they had this feature! I don’t get it

Jay, that’s what I am waiting for also! These unit are useless to me if they don’t upload when I walk into my house after a training session. Imagine how much money garmin would make if they had this feature! I don’t get it . Cccccc

While I do agree it’s silly that the Edge 520 doesn’t have WiFi, with Bluetooth Smart and the unit already paired to your phone, it’s going to do that upload pretty much instantly in the background when you finish your ride.

Comparing to Edge 500 its poor 50% of battery life. (25% less if you switch off all of the new features like BLE, 50% less if you activate all new features) My Question: Would anybody buy a new smartphone if it has less capacity than the predecessor? No!

An Edge 5nn/8nn/10nn must have a capacity for a whole day trip. These trips are the trips where you NEED all the new features like live tracking or messaging. Not that short ones.

How do you get 50% less battery life? The Edge 500 was 18 hours, the Edge 520 is 15 hours.

Do you normally cycle for more than 15 hours straight (i.e. starting at 7AM and ending at 10PM)? And if so – do you normally cycle for less than 18 hours when going more than 15 hours (i.e. starting at 7AM and ending at 1AM)?

I actually do cycle for that long straight routinely, but it’s still not much of an issue anyway. I just charge while riding using a small 3200 mAh Jackery battery pack that will charge on the fly. Works great for other Garmin units, and for using Strava on the iPhone for that long, I’m sure it will work fine for this one as well. Battery is just smaller and lighter than a roll of quarters. Works great!

Hi Ray, You mentioned in a DCR podcast with TRS Radio that very very soon there would be a European version of the Clevertraining discount. Any news on that? I would love to support you on my next tech purchase.

Indeed, I’m pretty excited about it as well. While we (the Royal We) to launch last week, it looks like the technical integration testing won’t yet be completed now till early August. They ran into a few more stumbling blocks. Definitely bummed. But hopefully it’ll be here soon (both them and I wish for that just as much as you!).

Hi, great review. I have a question regarding elevation. If I’m on a known Strava segment is there a way of displaying the elevation progress (i.e., an elevation graph for the whole segment showing how far through you are and what distance / grades are remaining?). Also, can you tell it what Strava segments you want to track or will it do all of them when you start them (that could get annoying!) Thanks in advance!

You have to select the segments in advance that you want to track and sync them with the unit from your PC/phone, so the 520 will then track those independent of your phone. It won’t see any other unselected segments though (which as you say, is probably a good thing!).

How does the touchscreen react to sweat dropping on it? When I’m on my KICKR and sweat drops on my Samsung GS5 phone, my buttons go all out of wack and Wahoo app keeps turning on/off, etc. How does the 520’s touchscreen react to sweat drops on it? E.g. does sweat select on-screen buttons for you, or keep you from pressing on-screen buttons?

Great review as always, and I really need HELP! I have a new Trek with Duo Trap, which is supposed to sync with all Garmin products. I want a device that will have a map, measure my watts, and sync with all my 3rd party apps (strava and the like). The 520 looks like a winner.

Do I need to buy the bundle (HR, Speed, Cadence), or can I get by buying the 520 ($299), Garmin HR ($69) and using by DuoTrap for Speed/Cadence? Please help.

Have two bikes? Buy the bundle and drop the Garmin Speed/Cadence sensors in the second frame. Just one bike? Standalone 520 + separate HRM should do it. You’ll still need to buy a power meter for watts, though.

How has Garmin not changed prices on the 500 and 510 yet? Seems like the 500 should be permanently lowered to the $169 sale price that has come out a few times and 510 needs to be below $250 for anyone to buy it…right now at $329 ($30 more than the newer 510) it makes no sense.

I was considering buying the 810 or 1000, with the upcoming software updates for those models, I’m confused about what to do. I liked the multiple bike profiles on the 510 and the touchscreen was nice.

For daily 20-40 mile rides with an eye on improving time, cadence etc…which one should I buy?

Hey there! I’m new in the dedicated bike computer…. I have always use my watch for that and an old Cateye wireless sensor… Are those computer used is MTB ? The 520 could do the thing you think or maybe too dangerous for this kind of activities? With bump and vibration, any risk of loosing it?

Hi sorry if this has been asked but this will be a deal breaker for me. Regarding turn by turn navigation. I understand that during mid ride you can’t enter a location and it will tell you turn by turn how to get there but what about downloading a route before you set off and then following it? Does it then give you turn by turn directions for that route?

Preface… I don’t have a 520, but all other non-routing devices work this way.

If you create the route “properly” (including course points with turn instructions) it should prompt for those. Note that if you go off course it will not tell you turn-by-turn how to get back to course (except perhaps “as the crow flies”).

As of now the Garmin Connect course I have used on my devices do not provide turn prompts. One needs to create using RideWithGPS, for example. There are some forum threads on Garmin’s forums. In general creating courses properly requires a little learning and process because there are many ways to get a course file, but only a few if you really want the course points with turn indications (and perhaps pre-turn warnings).

Perhaps a “better” question — does the Edge 520 continue to support TCX course files, or has it gone to the 920xt / fenix3 standard of requiring a FIT file? All of the edge devices in the past would take TCX files, so I am assuming this is the case.

Hey,,, quit laughing at us BB users :(…. On top being BB user (Q10) i’m a linux user as well… so i can forget about any kind of syncing… this is why absence of WiFI sync was biggest downer for me in this model…. well, actually only downer… as i see it – it’s a very solid product.

I currently have the 810 but been waiting for the Strava function that the 520 has. I know there is a Software update soon for the 810. Will this give the same Strava functions as the 520 or will it be a “lite” version if that makes sense. Also is the mapping the same as the 810 and not breadcrumbs like the 510?

I’m really keen to know the feedback re the firmware update to the Edge 1000. I’ve just bought one but will return before I open the box unless the Trainer control and other features are going to be rolled out..

Hi Ray. Only having owned the Edge 800, I have no experience in using a non-touchscreen Edge. And I’m having difficulties imagining how the Virb Remote functionality would work on the Edge 520. Any chance you could describe (or maybe even show it in a video or a couple of images) how this is accomplished? Cheers René

I too am interested in this point (how is the VIRB controlled by the Edge 520 if there isn’t touch-screen functionality) – on the older Edge units you could start/stop recording as well as take a photo. I can’t see how that’d work without losing some functionality (not enough buttons on the 520!)

So I’m looking to buy a new gramin edge head unit. I’m undecided between the 510 & 1000. But the 520 & 810 are also on my radar but to a lesser extent. I’ve read the complete reviews (which are awesome) of all four of them PLUS read the comments section. (that’s a lot, i know) But i’m still unsure which one to go with. I’ve been using my iPhone so far, but battery life and connection to ANT+ sensors have been an issue. 510 seems great but the review was negative 1000 is also great but review & comments were also negative (specially on poor battery life). 520 is still brand new and not fully tested. And in some areas it sounds to me like a downgrade rather than an upgrade (battery life & touch screen for instance – compared to 510)

SO, if budget were no issue, but the important features were: – long battery life – reliability (no mid-ride device failures, or other bugs that will lose all progress…) – long lifespan (i’d like to keep it for a very long time) – GPS + GLONASS sounds like a good PLUS – compatibility with HRM, cadence & speed sensors, as well as power meters (I believe they all are compatible) – Screen always on, and that is readable with minimum brightness setting (i love numbers) – Upload to garmin connect through WIFI or Bluetooth via iPhone – Map is a fine extra but I’ll have my iPhone with me anyway, so it’s probably redundant. – Impromptu ride on the other hand sounds quite neat – Turn by turn instructions would be real nice but I’ve read it affects battery life tremendously – Live Segments not so important

SO which would you go with? thx And any links for EU purchase? thx again for the in-depth reviews. much appreciated

MD, Ray is a busy man, so maybe I can help since I’ve owned an edge 500, 800 and 810. The edge 810 never had reliable upload it iPhone (for me….and many others from what I read about in the forums).

Once you have mapping on your cycling computer, you’ll never want to pull out your phone again for maps. You do get some reduced battery life following a course and using maps vs just the data pages, but still should be well within acceptable duration.

Switched back to the edge 800 from the 810 and find the 800 very reliable. However, I do have a 520 on pre-order through Clever Training. I’m hoping the ee 520 has better uploads through the iPhone. I also like the smaller form factor.

Unlikely, unless Garmin forks out extra $$ for the Firstbeat license for the existing 510/810/1000 devices out there. Would be nice if 510/810/1000 did HRV/RR recording for post-ride standalone analysis via 3rd party software (incl. Firstbeat Athlete.)

Regarding call and text notifications, what information appears on the screen? Is it something simple like a name/number of who’s calling or texting, or does the actual text appear on the screen? Thanks!

For $100 more, the “bundle” includes Garmin’s new ANT+ Speed and Cadence sensors, correct? If so, then you’d be better off buying them separately: (~$65 for the bundle, $299 for the Edge 520). Am I missing something here?

What?! That’s the end of August! By the time I get it it’s going to be heading full speed into Autumn. I had hoped from the announcement that it would be available soon. Especially since I had a 510 but sent it back as the 520 was announced.

Why announce a product and get everyone excited about it then don’t make it available for months? At least with the likes of Apple their products are available a couple of weeks after the launch.

Thanks for review. I have just pre ordered the 520. I have DI2 and just wondering how it sinks with DI2 and gives you gear positions, and where this is displayed. I like to use certain gears for some hill climbs and this will be helpful.

Surely you do not need to be concerned with what someone else wants or why they want it. Is it not enough to just be happy that someone else enjoys cycling? Regardless of what anyone else wants or needs surely it does not affect your life correct?

Since these are compunters I’m wondering if there is a speed difference in the processors used in the 1000, 810, and now the 520. What I’m really getting at is the 810 going to feel sluggish and slow since it has older generation internal computer stuff than the 1000 and 520? Sort of like how my old ipad2 is slow and sluggish compared to newer models.

Ray, Thank you for the detailed review. Just ordered a Edge 520 bundle from clever training site. It saved me the 10% plus the sales tax. I am relatively new to road biking and this is my first bike computer! I am looking forward to it!

Do you know if the HR strap that comes in the bundle is the new HR strap from Garmin that’s able to measure all those nifty run dynamic statistics, or is it the traditional one that came with the older edge 500/510 units? Thanks!

I predicted earlier when Garmin introduced their own segments (First look at the new Garmin Edge 1000 – Comment #235) that Strava would be forced to either roll their own GPS head or partner. With the Garmin/Strava tie up, it is clear that Garmin is throwing in the towel on their segment feature. Besides, I am not sure how Garmin monetizes their Connect web offering (or do they even try?). By partnering with the leaders in the user application space, they sell more hardware. Let’s face it, us cyclists are cheap and, at most, we’ll only subscribe to 1 pay anything service.

Great review, as always. Sorry if someone mentioned these issues, but I burned out after the first 200 posts! Lots of note rest here.

I don’t understand why Garmin would diminish an awesome device with key buttons on the bottom. It’s just insane. As a bike racer, I want to minimize the gap between device and bars. Sky even had K-Edge design an out front mount specifically to do this. Now, to use the lap feature, I have to make the device very un-aerodynamic. Any chance Garmin will allow user-programmable buttons to get around this crazy (did I mention it’s insane!) design feature.

I was also going to say that I wish they has redesigned the pesky plastic mounting tabs that break but this issue pales in comparison to buttons on the bottom. Insanity!

I doubt racers in aero are interested in the start/stop or lap buttons. But if they do care, they can now press the buttons via the Edge Remote without disturbing their aero too much (assuming that the Edge Remote can be positioned properly.)

I agree that the buttons along the bottom are not ideal (they are hard to reach and operate), but I think it’s getting a little carried away to discuss how aero the computer is in the mount. This comes down to milliwatts of loss.

Thanks for the great review. Sorry if this has been asked already but I can’t find the answer yet. Does the 520 use the same speed cadence sensor as the 500? I assume my HRM from my 500 is also compatible. Thanks!

Hi Ray, I have an old Garmin 60Cx and it works really except for one aspect. I often follows downloaded gpx tracks on my mountain bike, and they are shown as a narrow dotted line (‘breadcrumbs’). I can alter the color of the line, but not its width. However, these days I need reading glasses and cannot see the narrow line so clearly. Is it possible with the new 520 to alter the width as well as color of tracks, or do you know any other tricks to do that? Thanks, Andrew

A few of us (over 50) riders out here have resorted to sticking on the half moon shaped Hydrotac stick-on bifocals on the lens of the dominant. Works wonders and you don’t notice it unless you look down.

Hi Ray, I will be upgrading from the Edge 500 so I’m not sure what the routing functionality of the Edge 510 entails. I’m assuming this will be the same as the Edge 500 in that I can create a route, export in that file (such as in tcx format) and receive turn by turn instructions. Is that right?

Thanks once again for another brilliant mini review. I wish you could sort out some deal for Australian users where you also got a cut of the purchase price.

Is it a bad idea to buy the older edge 500/800 now, since they are two generations behind and are being discontinued. I can get the 500/800/810 for these prices below, which seems pretty good to me? They include HRM and cadence.

Edge 500 $182 Edge 800 $310 Edge 810 $365

The slightly more expensive 810 is also an option. The new 520 is more expensive than the 810 where I live.

Thanks for a great insight into this product. I just lost my Edge 800 and so am faced with a buying decision. Really liking the 520 – great interface and of course the Strava segments. Couple of questions: Does it have an elevation profile screen like the Edge 800/810 showing the upcoming climbs and descents for the active course? Do we know if/when Garmin will be updating the 810 and what features it’s likely to have?

Mark- all my sensors are compatible (I have an earlier BlueSC on another bike that BT-only). But it’s mostly that BT seems like the future, and Garmin is the biggest player that can’t support it (since they pushed ANT).

Ted, I’m with you. Wahoo app crashes after 3 or so hours and they haven’t fixed it in 4 months! I had a race that started in the mountains so GPS didn’t lock in before it started, so it just turned GPS off for the whole ride. Now, my RFLKT is going though batteries like crazy. Guess it’s time for a real computer and save the phone for calls and running.

FrostByte: I had battery drain issues quite a while ago (early this year? late last year?), they had me update the RFLKT firmware.

Still having some sort of Android GPS issues that keep rides from being tracked. It works fine for many rides, but fails on some, which isn’t acceptable. Some of the failures are from using the camera during a ride, but that isn’t true for all of them.

The devs at Strava said they aren’t adding RFLKT to Android (like they have on iphone), so that makes me more inclined to go with the 520.

I posted this higher up under another comment, but I imagine it’ll get buried pretty quick. So, if I have the 500, I’d only need to buy the base unit and everything else should work (HR, speed, cadence, Stages meter), no fuss no muss?

Thanks, Ray for a fantastic review! Tremendous amount of info here. I currently have the 500 and upload TCX files for the majority of my rides. When the screen is set to the “cue sheet” view, it works fine. However, when it’s set to the metrics view (speed, cadence distance etc), the turns are displayed after the fact so it doesn’t allow enough time to prepare for the upcoming direction. Is this still the case with the 520? It would be ideal if I could set up a screen with some metrics plus the next 2-3 turn directions which counts down in distance as I approach the turn off point.

I have been using the Edge 510 and when i’m “following a course”, the speed of the GPS to read the map is to slow… If the course have 2 consecutive turns, when i’m doing the last turn the GPS is still giving data for the first turn…

Hello, i have sell my edge 800 and i need to buy new edge now, and i don´t know how garmin will i buy edge 520 or edge 1000. with the new firmware the garmin 1000 does have the strava segments also? and the vo2 max calculation?

Garmin’s Edge 1000 software version 4.10 update was released last week. The change history says it adds support for Strava live segments and fixes a few bugs, but doesn’t mention anything about VO2 Max or the new ANT+ FE-C (trainer control) protocol.

I currently use a couple of Polar monitors and it is easy to lock into a heart rate zone on the fly when training. I see that you can do a similar thing with Garmin by defining it in the activity profile. Can the zone lock be taken off easily on the fly? For example on my commute home I can set a zone lock to zone 3 and then disengage it by holding a button down before I climb the hill to home to save the motor from beeping at me incessantly. Can a Garmin operate in the same way?

Obviously this unit is purpose built for bike riding, not geocaching. That being said, is there any way to load something like a gpx file of local caches onto the 520 so that you can stop if you happen to be passing them on the map? (not that I can ever bring myself to stop for them but I like having the option)

my friend’s aunt makes $74 /hr on the laptop . She has been laid off for 5 months but last month her income was $19859 just working on the laptop for a few hours. learn this here now c­­a­­r­­e­­e­­r­­s­­r­­e­­p­­o­­r­­t­­.­­ℂ­­o­­m­­

Thanks for the great review I was lucky enough to get a hold of one of these but have been unable to install the open source maps I belive I have followed the instructions and have copied it into the Gramin root directory but it does not show up

I have got the file with the name gmapsupp.img so I am sure i have downloaded the correct file I cannot find anyway to turn the map on If you could help me out I would be grateful

Roger I am sorry to tell you but your unit is obviously defrective. I feel really poorly that this happened to you, So to make it better I suggest you instantly send me yours next day air. Then when mine arrives and I know it’s good I’ll send you mine…. :)

Splendid review, as usual! I’m really not prone to change for any new device coming up; I’m still using an Edge 705, I guess this is a valid proof! :-) But while reading your article, I felt like this Edge 520 could be the GPS I’ve been waiting for years (especially as I’m definitely not a fan of touch-screens for bike GPS). However, I still can’t believe that Garmin did not provide more memory than those ridiculous 50 MB… how is that even possible nowadays? Any chance that they will upgrade their device either with more memory or at least with a SD card slot in your opinion? Honnestly, if you’re planning a 1 week trip from Nice to Geneva across the French Alps (which happens to be my case), you will never be able to upload the corresponding map from link to garmin.openstreetmap.nl because it will be more than 60 MB (I just tried it, keeping only the really necessary tiles on the map; there’s no way to go below this map size). So now I really feel like it could be the perfect GPS if they decided to open their eyes and give it the memory it needs!

I preordered my 520 from performance bike as soon as it was on their site, when the anticipated in-stock date was at the end of July. The date keeps getting pushed back since then (now August 18). Anyone else know of any status from the other U.S. vendors?

I spend about 20 minutes each and every day “shopping” for this item. Other than 1 person on here stating they have one besides ray I cannot find any availability anywhere.

were you one of the fortunate ones that happened to stumble across performance offering 20% off everything during the tour? This included the pre-order on the 520. 20% off the most anticipated bike computer release in a long time AND free shipping….wth

someone at performance probably got the slap on the back of the head for that one…….

Really? I’ve received 3 updates emails from Clever all stating … “This item is still expected to become available for fulfillment in August, however at this time we do not have any confirmed shipping dates available from Garmin.”

The Edge 520 bundle units came into Clever Training on Thursday or Friday (can’t remember offhand), but all of those went out. That covered roughly half of all Clever Training backorders for the bundle variant.

For the base Edge 520, no units have arrived yet (and at last check on Friday they hadn’t received ship-notice yet from Garmin to Clever Training).

Well, after reading this awesome review and all of the comments, I think I’ve finally found my Edge 500 replacement. The 510 was a non-starter because of the touch screen and larger size. The 520 looks perfect, just a tad bit bigger than the 500. The mapping and smaller storage are not issues for me, but it will be nice to have the BT sync ability like the 510. Hopefully it will not be as buggy as the first releases of prior Edge products. Kudos to Garmin on the Vivoactive, that’s been bug free for me right from the start.

I just ordered mine from Clever Training with the VIP program. People in FL get the shaft on this though because of the FL sales tax…..makes the discount only 3%. Hopefully it will arrive before 6 Gap in September.

Segments are virtual race courses. You can race a segment, and compare your performance to past activities, other riders’ performance, connections in your Garmin Connect™ account, or other members of the cycling community.

1. Start following a segment, a course containing a segment, or go for a ride. Makes it like any segments on a course should come up. Well, it’s a Garmin 1.0 release, so par for the course.

Do you need to star a segment to get it to track? I could understand that. If you live in a busy cycling area you might have 10 segments overlapping at once, or a few starting within a couple hundred feet of each other. Also if the trail Y’s there might be a segment going each way, how would it know at the start which one you wanted to hit?

I am not remarkably techy, but is there anything here that would improve and decrease the number of dropped connections between my stages PM and the 520? My 500 presently loses connection (much) more than I would prefer, drives me a bit nuts. Granted, I live in a very populous area (Orange County, CA) with lots of signals everywhere I am sure…any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I had the same problem and found it was the power meter not the cycling computer. I was experiencing stages drop outs on my Garmin 500 and Mio 505. It was related top the stages battery connection. Remove the battery compartment O-ring and voila.. no more drop outs. Unfortunately, you probably compromised the water protection at the same time. I ended up wrapping a layer of see through duct tape around the crank as water protection. Worked perfectly since.

Does anyone know whether I can use my Forerunner 225 as HRM in addition to the Edge 520? Upon synchronizing the data of both devices, am I able to bundle the data so my heart rate measured with the FR225 will be added to the data (route/cadence/speed/etc.) of the Edge 520?

I really hate chest straps, that’s precisely what I love about my FR225 while running. I would like to use the Edge 520 for cycling as the FR225 cannot really help me there, but I do not want to wear a chest strap. So the question is, can I still use my FR225 for the heart rate part and combine the data afterwards?

I’m personnally using the Mio Link Heart Rate Wristband, because I don’t like chest straps either. It’s very reliable and I like it, could not go back to chest straps now, for sure! I believe that Ray has also reviewed this product, you should find the article by browsing this blog.

Ray great review. Finally Garmin seems to have found a great cycling product. Hopefully the 520 works OK in terms of connectivity reliability. I was about to close a deal for an Edge 1000. I will wait to know if the FE-C and VO2 Max functions will be added in the upcoming firmware update.

Just received a 520 that I am setting up for my wife to use – I have a 510 currently and am struggling a little with the different UI (buttons vs. touch screen).

Couple of questions: – Anyone know how to change the scale on the elevation screen? On the 510, I could touch the feet or miles to change the vertical/horizontal scale. – Anyone know how to zoom on the map without going deep into the menus to set the zoom level manually? – Is there a way to pan the map?

Changing the map zoom is burdensome. Basically, you can’t do it without stopping and going through the buttons. I have an old 800 and I’ve come to the conclusion that you need a touch screen to make a map usable while on the fly. I like the other features of the 520 and will keep it. I needed mapping this past weekend and took both the 520 and 800 with me. Worked well especially since the 520 didn’t take up much real estate when I moved it over to a conventional handlebar mount.

The map is still unreadable for me but that is largely a function of my age and lack of reading lenses. On the other hand, found a gem on this board. I ordered those $15 stick on bifocal wannabee lenses you put on your sunglasses that somebody recommended. Looking forward to trying them as I have a map intensive Phila to NYC century this weekend.

Will the edge 520 allow you to see real time heart rate data, not just average/min/max? I noticed that most of the Garmin edge products do not do this. Do most cyclists just not care about this information?

Well that makes sense. I was looking at bike computers in a store and that is what they told me about the 520 specifically and the other edge models. Someone was confused about something. Thanks for the response!

In response to PY, I don’t think the 1000 is a better option than the 810, the latter of which is more compact with better battery life. This raises a new question. given that the 810 is now showing to be cheaper (looking at today’s amazon) than the new 520, wouldn’t the 810 now be the best option, if only for the added memory and routable maps. Interested in people’s thoughts?

I have a friend who just bought the 1000 and he had a 810 before. He seems to be happy of it, so the 1000 must be somehow nicer than the 810. But he just had it for a few days, so I don’t have his long time feedback yet. Any other opinion about this subject will be appreciated!

Fair enough PY. To me it looks like the 1000 has the benefit of a larger screen although for many the extra size is detrimental and it’s a bit heavier. it has a slightly higher screen res, not sure how noticeable this is. The 1000 has the ability to route an instant course for the user based on distance – sounds good, although I’d be wary at the roads it took me on. Finally, it can receive text updates which could be quite a useful feature. The bluetooth link for this failed quite a lot – not sure how well it’s working now. I’ll leave it to others who have had user experience, or perhaps DC might be able to give his summation of the 1000vs810vs520 if money was/was not an option

810 doesn’t have Glonass. So 520 is more accurate, faster acquisition, less signal lost, and it’s a more compact package. Depends on needs though. If your primary use is navigation, the bigger screen of the 810 might be a benefit for you. If like me, your primary use is tracking your ride data, and displaying data like power, HR, and cadence during your workouts and races, you might find the additional accuracy of the 520 more compelling.

Just got the Edge 520 and took it for a spin this morning. I’ve used the HR strap from my Forerunner 620 with my Edge 500 before with nor problems, but on this morning’s ride, I noticed my HR switching back and forth between 63 and my HR at the moment (see attached). Any idea what’s going on here? Thanks!

So, I changed the battery on my HRM-Run and it did the same thing again (flipping between 63 bpm and my current heart rate), but also did it to a lesser extent with my Forerunner 620. On the battery status page for the HRM, the Forerunner 620 said the new battery was “ok” while the Edge 520 said “critical.” So what’s a guy to do? I figure maybe my HRM is going bad, so I went out and bought a new strap. So far, this seems to have solved the problem — no weird jumps to 63 bpm on either part of my brick today. What concerns me, though, is that the Edge 520 still gives a battery status of “critical” for the new HRM. This just can’t be true since I bought it only today. Could this be a firmware problem or do you think I have a faulty 520 unit? Everything else seems to be okay. Thanks again,

I’m having the sames issue. FR620 is 5 months old. I’ve not tried using the HRM with both FR620 and Edge 520 at the same time, but the numbers on the FR620 look OK, so assume it’s a bug with the Edge 520. Hope Garmin sort soon.

I called Garmin about this. They said its a software issue on the 520 and they believe its only with the HR strap that does running dynamics. They said they are working on an update, but do not have a release date for it yet.

I think it is HRM, as I was having this same issue with my 920XT. Started using my spare HRM, a Wahoo Ant+ unit, and problem completely solved. Kind of a bummer to lose the extra running dynamics though.

Bill, it’s not a Bluetooth issue, it depends on the type of network your carrier uses for voice calls. Basically, if you can surf the web and talk on the phone simultaneously (BT headset or speakerphone) then live updates should work during a voice call, but that can and will vary by location and cell coverage. Without knowing which iPhone you have or which wireless provider you use, it’s difficult to give you an exact answer.

An iPhone can communicate with several different types of Bluetooth devices at once, although generally only on a one-of-a-type-at-a-time basis (you’ll have to choose between your Jabra headset and your Jambox speaker).

So, for example, you can pair your Bluetooth HR sensor, speed/cadence sensor and power meter to a single iPhone all at the same time.

The restriction with Bluetooth as far as we’re concerned is at the sensor level. Each Bluetooth sensor can only talk to one master device at a time. So a Stages power meter can communicate over Bluetooth with either an iPhone or a Polar M450 or an Ambit 3, but only one at a time. That same Stages power meter can communicate over ANT+ with any number of Garmins or other ANT+ receivers simultaneously.

I took mine out for a ride this morning and it worked great. The only problem I had was with my heart rate strap from the Forerunner 620, which kept on dropping my heart rate down throughout the ride. I thought it might be the 520 causing the problem, but a similar thing happened on my run this afternoon, so I’m thing I have a problem with the HRM strap. I may need to change the battery. So far, though, no problems with the 520. Worked great and synced without a problem.

Mine uploaded fine via Bluetooth on my HTC One, but it did Stop about a 1/4 of the way into my ride. I was on a rocky tough climb and looked down and saw the choices to save or discard, and I was like “back” I’m not done yet. I didn’t think to hit Start again, because I had inadvertently chosen Elapsed Time which kept on going, so I didn’t know it had stopped. I’m usually just glancing at the HR or not looking at it at all, so I didn’t notice till my cooldown that it was sitting at 3.88 miles. At some point later in the ride, it beeped at me and showed a lap time, even though I was on a completely different trail and don’t have Auto-lap enabled anyway. Apparently it recorded a little bit there. I’m hoping the bar fly just flexed a little and let the button hit my stem top cap. The buttons are really touchy. If it’s going to turn off just from being jostled around while mountain biking, that will be a bummer. I hadn’t even gotten to the downhill when it had stopped, so who knows if it would have done it again if I had restarted it. I’ll find out tomorrow.

I didn’t try any of the Strava stuff yet. I didn’t even have it linked to my Garmin connect when I started the ride, only paired bluetooth and it auto-uploaded right away. I’ll have to look at the directions for the Strava stuff, just ran through the basics this morning to get it up and running and out the door on my ride.

An update, it worked fine today on some super fast rocky descents, set some PR’s. I adjusted the BarFly up a tad so it wouldn’t bounce off the stem, bonus, I can see the display better now too. So perhaps I was correct that the button got pressed by bouncing off the stem top cap…

Turned on the Strava segment feature, it seems to download a variety of segments close by, but definitely includes starred segments. As I was coming up on segment it started to notify me, 500ft to start of segment, etc. Also showed me the name of the KOM holder so I knew who the “time behind” referred to. It was a segment with a lot of cornering and climbing so I didn’t even look at it once it started, but I never knew where that segment started and this time I knew when to give it the gas and moved up to 5th, so that was nice. Later in the ride, there was another segment where I’ve set a goal time of 9:00 on Strava. I also have it starred. As I neared that one it also notified and when that one started it had my goal time at the top instead of the KOM holder’s name, and the “time behind” was in reference to the goal time. I thought that was pretty cool.

At the end of the ride, it uploaded via BT in only about 15 seconds after I hit save ride. Way faster than my 510 which only uploaded over BT about 50% of the time and frequently took 5 minutes or more to decide to do so.

Happy with the 520 now. I’ll try to update after a few more rides.

The ride area is Lunch Loops in Grand Junction, uber technical terrain.

I would definitely take the 520 over the 510. Much nicer to have buttons instead of touch screen. Love touchscreen on my phone, wasn’t so good while riding. Less losing signal in the woods, hopefully none.

Vs. the 810 depends on how much you want to rely on the mapping. I was fine with the breadcrumb trail on my 500 the few times I used it. I haven’t even looked into the mapping functions on the 520 yet. Perhaps I’ll check that out this weekend. I can only imagine it’s better than the 500 and 510 at the least.

Also the 520 finds satellites in less than 15 seconds. Nice improvement over my 500 which could sometimes take a minute or two. A bummer when you’re wanting to start a ride.

I am an uncompetitive roadie, I was all about the 520 until yesterday. I had a good long discussion with myself and decided that car-like gps was more important than glonass and fec trainer support and bluetooth smart. Nothing I use for riding is bluetooth. I use my laptop on my trainer with a dongle so I do not need my head unit to control my trainer, and all my sensors record speed, cadence, etc outdoors. Should they be dead my powertap hub would provide. so yesterday i cancelled my 520 order and pilled the trigger on a 810.

however from the ridiculous amout of research I put into this if I only road off road I would probably want the glonass satellites and would have waitied for the 520

I currently use the joule gps and i can still use that to control trainer in a pinch if i had to and i’m familiar with breadcrumbs from it and it just doesn’t cut it for wandering and exploring like I want to do.

Please take this as informational. It might come off sounding a bit whiny but it is not meant to I just do not write well. To set the stage let me say I understand that my lack of planning is not the problem of anyone else. However in my defense, I live in the Amazon age. I use Amazon frequently with my prime membership. Order today and sometimes have it today. Tomorrow is a piece of cake. Two days? Everything on the planet or just about in two days is my mindset I get shoes from zappos…order today receive tomorrow, and others just like it. You all understand I need not go on. I have been reading Ray’s reviews for quite some time. I always feel guilty I do not spend any money at clever training. I have been agonizing over my decision to purchase a new bike gps as I am tired of my joule. I am traveling this week with my daughter and we want to explore on our bikes and I do not want to follow breadcrumbs, I want maps, specifically I want car like gps. So yesterday I pull the trigger on a new 810 that I NEED by Friday. I go to clever training and add to cart and look at shipping options. Fedex…woo hoo…flat overnight fee of 29.95. fantastic. Save 10 from Ray, get overnight have it tomorrow …my life is good on to my next first world problem. Except…..as of last night the order is still “processing”…well no worries..lag time updates eh I’ll send a email someone will answer it will all be good. This morning no answer. Hmmm ok …well when I get to work I’ll call. 24/7 800 number. So I call…get Clinton on the phone (I’ll skip my thoughts on the political reference) I ask politely, hey Clinton ….yada…will I have it today? His answer? I’m sorry sir I cannot help you with your order, I’ll send a message to the customer service team and someone will be with you in 1 business day. Goodbye….click Seriously!!…WTF just happened? That is customer service? I cannot help you someone else will call goodbye and hang up? Ok, so at this point I am pulling the trigger ON AMAZON on a 810, having it next day aired to my first days location with my daughter and will now have to go a little out of my way to get it. You might be clever with training but you are dumb as a stump with customer handling clever training..P.S. Obviously you have a return coming your way when I get back.

A Retraction of sorts. I contacted again with the attitude I was going to at least speak to a call center supervisor. Instead I got an actual Clever training person Mariah (not sure if I spelled correctly) What a difference. She made everything better and has retained me as a customer for sure! I cannot say enough about her professionalism and genuine concern and how well she did her part.

I am so glad I gave them another chance to make it right and they should be happy they have someone like her taking care of their customers because I WILL purchase there again because of this.

Yes my situation was self-inflicted from the onset; however I am justified in call them out on the call center issue. They pick who represents them after hours. I was definitely leaving based on their call center experience they provided. However now because of Mariah I will be back. All is forgiven on my end.

Ordered day one from CT and the original estimate was late July. This later changed to August. I emailed them seeing how plenty of people already have these in hand and was told now it’s maybe by the end of the month????

Considering other retailers have already shipped what’s the issue with CT? Are they on Garmin’s ‘you ticked us off’ list or something? I might just cancel and call it a day. I ordered 6=weeks ago and now am being told another 4? PASS!

Thanks for the support, I do appreciate it. The Edge 520 came out four weeks ago, but ignoring that – there are two products at play here:

Edge 520 bundle Edge 520 base

Garmin has ONLY shipped Edge 520 bundles out to retailers, and not base units yet (there may be some base units offered at bike show events, not sure). They started shipping those bundle units last week to Clever Training (end of July as planned) and Clever Training based on that was able to fulfill approximately half the bundle orders last Friday. As of earlier in the week they had not yet received any base unit updated ship dates, but that may have changed in the last few days (I haven’t checked).

As with past Garmin releases (every one actually), Garmin is usually late on ship times. Clever Training knows this so usually they add enough padding to account for it (other retailers do the opposite), but sometimes you just can’t add enough apparently.

Again, I do appreciate the support through them – and I assure you they’d like you to have the unit just as much as anyone else.

Thank you for your recent pre-order for the Garmin Edge 520. Our first shipment is scheduled to arrive the middle of next week. We will begin to fulfill orders based on the date in which the order was placed. If your order is fulfilled with this shipment, you will receive an email with the tracking information for the processed shipment. If your order is not fulfilled with this shipment, you will receive an update next Thursday, August 8th, with any new information we have at that time.

If you have any specific questions, regarding your pre-order please feel free to contact us directly at sales@clevertraining.com.

RNH, I have found that when the status email goes from the canned we have not heard from Garmin yet to we will be getting a shipment that’s usually the case. Since i ordered the base unit i bet we see some ship next week so here is hoping we are first on the list.

This is my first garmin and I was hopeful it would be stable so far I am 1 for 2. On my second ride it crashed on saving the ride and I cannot retrieve it. It shows in the history but I cannot examine the details or upload it to garmin connect. So apparently they need to do a little work on the stability.

I got that same email. Although, since I just placed my order earlier this week, I’m half expecting an email next Thursday (8th?- someone needs to check a calendar) telling me I’ll still be waiting. Not too concerned. My 620 is handling bike duties adequately.

I did choose CT over Amazon, as CT gave a date of Aug 18, where as Amazon said 1-3 months. Also, the DCR VIP discount. And the whole supporting the site thing. I almost feel we should be paying extra ordering through Ray’s links for all the work he does (whatever they’re giving you, it’s not enough).

And lastly, I’d like to add, I’ve had positive experiences speaking via phone with CT. Forget who, but some online retailers won’t ship to Hawaii- something about postal restrictions and lithium batteries transported by air. CT assured me this would not me an issue.

Hey guys, I can’t get the device to display weather data live. The garmin connect app (iOS) doesn’t seem to have a choice to turn that on/off for my 520 device. Is is done differently now? Thanks a lot for everything!

Just got a message from Garmin stating it would ship 8/14. I inquired after my last inquiry stating it would ship today (8/7). Frankly, I’m OK with waiting as it sounds like the ones that were shipped early are buggy as long as the wait is for the fix! As many of you all seem to be I’m also an instant gratification kind of guy and it’s been REALLY hard waiting! This will be my first foray into Garmin, I’ve been using the Strava App for acquisition and VeloViewer for quenching my thirst for data. I’m hoping Garmin opens up more data for me especially given I purchased and have been using the P1’s now for a little over a month and am hungry for the left/right power analysis. Currently I haven’t been able to figure out how to get that via Strava. I avoided the Joule GPS+ based on the reviews from DC and the feeling after I read that of it’s not as advanced as Garmin. When Garmin came out with the 520 and Ray’s review about getting it “just right” I decided to take the plunge and be a convert. Hopefully I won’t be disappointed! Thanks to all of you that are posting their comments on their experiences. Perhaps another week of experiences will help me decide further if I want to stay the course or drop my order and pick up a different head unit. Thanks Ray for all your in depth reviews and what you do. Can’t believe you do this as a side job :) Care to start a site on time management for our benefit???

Hi, can the edge 520 and fenix 3 share information between them? I.e. The VO2 max, FTP and recovery times. If i use the fenix for running and swimming and the edge for cycling will the edge take into account the amount of exercise i’ve done with the fenix and reflect that in my edge recovery times?

It’s mostly screen size. I prefer the Edge 520 because the screen is a bit bigger, and it also has features the Fenix3 does not (such as ANT+ FE-C support, Varia Radar/lights support, Strava support), and probably a few others I’m not thinking of.

1. Does the 520 show the contents of incoming text messages, or just the fact that they have arrived?

2. If you’re riding with the screen showing the map and some superimposed data fields it sounds as though it’s not possible to move and zoom around the map without switching to another screen. Is that right?

ONE IMPORTANT QUESTION: Please, please, please could you let me know if it’s possible to upload an activity from the 520 to an ipad? This is a massive dealmaker/breaker. I don’t always have phone data (travelling abroad) hence only ipad.

Cheers for the reply, Chris but have you got a 520 and tried this? Just wondering as wasn’t sure whether you could use it to upload to GC without the cellular data. And 2nd question, is it possible to transfer an activity from Garmin Connect to Strava with an ipad/smartphone?

And as far as Strava goes, you can log on to your Strava account and connect it to your GC account. Synching will occur automatically in the background soon after you’ve uploaded your activity via GC Mobile.

I received my 520 today! (woot!) Alas though in the process of trying to install the openstreetmap based map (replacing gmapbmap.img per the folks reporting success), I’ve lost maps entirely. My unit prints the osm copyright note at boot, then a dialog that says “Cannot unlock maps.” I also apparently didn’t properly backup the stock gmapbmap.img, can anyone help me out by sending me the stock gmapbmap.img from their unit?

The new one that worked for me is 18MB, the one that would not work was 50MB. I’m not sure if the size is the issue or some feature was included in the first OSM map that Garmin did not like. I’m going to ride with the 520 a few times over the next few days, but then I’ll do more experiments to see if I can narrow down why some tilesets work and others do not (i.e. the problem may not be file size per se).

Yeah, looking through the Amazon reviews one has to separate out Edge issues from user issues from other issues.

For example, one person is upset because of a server error in his screenshot. Well, that’s not anything to do with the Edge 520. Heck, even Garmin responded in the Amazon comment (I never knew they bothered to do so) saying as such.

Another gave the unit 1-star because of the Strava Virtual Partner ordering on segments (prioritizes who you follow over the KOM). I find this funny, because someone else around here just noted that they prefer the opposite of what this reader apparently hates (personally, I prefer trying to beat people I follow by default, because honestly I’ll never beat the KOM for most segments). Still, I can understand wanting to have an option to change this behavior, but to give 1 stars purely because of this?

Finally, the other challenge you have at this stage with Amazon reviews is that no Amazon verified purchases have been declared (in large part because Amazon hasn’t received any units themselves as Garmin on a matter of policy ships to them last, so only secondary sellers would have listed there, and even then, most secondary sellers wouldn’t bother to list inventory there now because they can make more money selling a hot item like this directly, versus letting Amazon take a cut). The point there being that what ends up happening is essentially any upset people flock to Amazon in an attempt to shot down a product. It’s a trend I see often until the balance of power shifts to just everyone else who purchased via Amazon and decides to rate their own purchases. Versus happy people don’t flock to Amazon if they purchased elsewhere because…well…why would they?

Not discounting those actually having problems, but just putting into perspective what I see skimming that list…

Ray, Clever just shipped my 520. I have a 510 with a K-Edge mount that I’m handing down to my wife. Will a standard K-Edge work well enough with the 520 design (with button on bottom) or would it be better to wait for a new design or get the one for the 1000 that would put it further out front? This is a straight handlebar on a mountain bike.

You should be good. The last 2 photos in the little mount gallery are the standard K-Edge mount, so I’d double-check that it’s the same one as I have in the photo (likely is). But since it fits the Edge 510, the 520 is smaller and so you get back that little bit for pressing the bottom buttons.

Thanks Ray, I do have the standard K-Edge Garmin mount and I agree it should be good. It seems K-Edge may have limited quantities of that mount these days as they are focusing on a newer “Aero” version of it that brings the computer much closer to the handlebar which MAY cause an issue, I had to buy the “Aero” to get a blue one (my wife’s bike color, had to do it) in a reasonable timeframe but since she will use it with my old 510 it shouldn’t be an issue. I will test it with the 520 though and let you know if its a pain though.

One of the main reasons for me to get the Edge 520 is text/call notification. Just tested this on the Edge 520 and unfortunately, i am not seeing any notification. During an activity, if i hit the action button (top right), it takes me to a menu screen and when i choose “Missed Calls and Texts”, i can see the content of the text messages but without any notification, this is not very useful.

I’ve been getting notifications for texts. I hear it on my phone first. Then I hear the beep on the 520 and look down and see the number of the caller/texter at the bottom of the screen. I suppose if it’s an important number, I could choose to stop and read the text itself. I’m content with just knowing who it’s from so I’m not having to stop and check my phone to see if it was important or not.

BTW, used the 520 on 3 more rides. It’s worked perfectly. I was wondering if it would let me LiveSegment a downhill segment, and once I starred it, it came up and worked, though I was too focused on the trail to look down at it even once during, the beep to let you know the segment has started is useful. It picks a random selection of popular segments plus any that you’ve starred as availalble for live segments.

I see that it unfortunately supports profiles with GPS off. It’s the only thing missing on my 510, which I bought just some 6 months ago. I really hope they’d add this on the 510, but if not, I’m gonna have to buy a 520. SIGH.

Don, Thomas, Do you have any experiences with using OSM maps and downloaded courses yet with the 520 Which you want to share with us? I’m considering buying one, but I would like to be sure about the map and course abilities of the edge 520.

I just received mine yesterday. 1st ride later today. I was able to upload an OSM map which seems to be working OK. I had to parse down the area but had more than enough room after deleting the garmin base map. One thing I eventually figured out is that you have to manually rename the OSM map to whatever file name the Garmin base map used. I don’t recall it now. One other observation. Text and call alerts are virtually useless with a LG G2. No on screen notification. I have to navigate through the menu (status >Bluetooth>missed calls and texts) and then I only get header notification of the sender and time for texts. No notifications for missed calls. Would have been nice but not a deal breaker. I’m up for a new phone on my present contract and that is 1 factor in my next selection.

I have 42MB free. I really skimped on the OSM map, left out some of my vacation spots. I am probably going to redo the map with fewer holes since I have more space. The one thing I don’t like that much about this is that if you travel or tour to another area, you basically have to delete your home map, reload the new one you have made and then reverse the process after returning home. One other issue which I haven’t determined yet. I have 60 year old eyes and I think the smaller map issue, smaller text may be an issue for me.

Ray, awesome review! I’m about to buy my first bike-gps. My first choice was the Edge 810 but since this review I think about buying the 520 instead. Good choice? The smaller size and better positioning system are important for me.

Obviously do what makes you happy and there is no way I would argue against rays endorsement even if I could. A week ago I switched from the bread crumb mapping on a joule GPS to a 810 (canceling my 520 order to get the 810 even) and I could not be happier. It is everything I wish for in a GPS unit including car like turn by turn directions. But if didn’t really want that or I was a serious mountain biker always off the beaten path then I guess the glonass feature would have ruled the day. If I was in any way a competitive athlete trying to find all the performance in myself I could then again the 520 would rule the day for now.

That’s a valid point, if you’re doing lots of ‘new route’ type stuff where you were going out and doing totally new routes each day, then something with more turn by turn navigation would be better. For example, if I were to go do a 5-7 day trek, I’d probably grab my 810 or 1000.

But, for just exploring ‘nearby’ me on a Saturday ride where I can use breadcrumb, the 520 works fine.

Wow some bad news from Clever Training. Looks like the Amazon reviews are Strava units, do they have more inventory. I’d rather not wait another 3 weeks best case scenario.

Thank you for your recent pre-order for the Garmin Edge 520. Based on information available from the manufacturer we expect our next shipment to arrive the end of this month. Upon receipt we will process orders based on the date each was placed.

We will be sure to keep you up to date on any new information that becomes available regarding the availability of the recently released Garmin Edge 520.

If you have any specific questions, regarding your pre-order please feel free to contact us directly at sales@clevertraining.com.

I had trouble getting OpenStreetMaps to work on the new 520 so I headed here…only mistake I made was starting at the top of the comments and reading through 300 posts before I saw to rename the gmapsupp.img to gmapbmap.img. Was necessary to delete (and empty trash) the original gmapbmap.img before renaming the new file. I made a backup of the original, but assume I probably don’t need it because it will probably get restored if I do a full device reset, but I don’t plan on finding out unless I start having issues.

I’ve only ridden 30 minutes with the new 520 (thanks Clevertraining/DC for getting it to me so fast and at a discount!). Was interested to see how it handles overlapping Strava segments…appears to only catch the first one and ignore the subsequent ones, so I went into Strava and made sure to only put stars on the ones I want to see and made sure they don’t overlap. I also disabled a segment during the ride and when I passed it again, it still started up. Oh well, wasn’t expecting perfection out of the box.

I can confirm the data fields are MUCH easier to read than the 510. You can also view your historical data while you are in the middle of a ride, though I’d recommend pulling over first :) That was something that occasionally annoyed me with the 510. Also, the way it handles sensors (pooling) seems much better than matching each sensor to a specific bike profile. If you pick up multiple sensors of the same type, it just asks you if you want to switch from the current one to the next one. Helps if you have them named so you can recognize which one is which.

All in all, I’m loving the 520 after having it for only 24hours, compared to my old 510. I’ll have to get used to the buttons, but that shouldn’t take long. I should also mention that with the K-edge aero mount, I am still able to hit the bottom buttons, although they are quite close to my bars. Hope this long-drawn-out review helps someone.

Good review, thanks! Just got my Garmin 520 yesterday. I am replacing my old 500. Early thoughts–buttons on bottom are great idea from an ergonomic perspective if you like recording splits on the fly. The 500 had terrible ergonomics. Satellite finding is amazingly fast with GLASNOSS, works even indoors for me. Slightly larger screen supports 7 windows well, I used 5 on my old 500. Although a 500 is now about half the price if you get it on sale, but I’m happy with the upgrade to 520. So far so good.

HOWEVER, I tried downloading custom basemaps as you suggest. All goes well until it’s time to stick the .img file somewhere via direct UBS connection (I’ve done this many times for courses). I’ve put it in the “new files” folder and the “custom maps” folder. Nothing. So where does it go? Your otherwise clear directions are blank on this.

You place it in the root Garmin folder and delete the gmapbmap file and rename your new file gmapbmap.img. I used mine for the first time yesterday. Worked well. Mine is replacing an 800. I actually liked the touch screen a little better. I rode at dusk and I could just touch the screen and get it to brighten. Now I have to hit the brightness button twice. Although I don’t use preset courses, I liked that the 800 would visually display the upcoming intersecting street on the Nav screen. On the 520 all I get is a directional heading at the top. Despite the small reduction in screen size, the data pages were very easy to read (I have 60 year eyes). However, I really couldn’t see any labels on the map.

One thing I’d like to see Garmin add is the ability to at least slightly customize the way data fields are displayed.

Right now, for example, I have 5 fields displayed, but they’re all the same size. I only need 5 but I’d love to be able to have Power and Cadence, the most important fields for most of my workouts, take up the whole top half or third of the screen, rather than having all fields be the same size. Other fields, like distance, are maybe cool to see if I’m curious how far I’ve gone, but I’m frequently trying to maintain a certain power or cadence for a certain time, so I want to be able to see those easily since I’m glancing down at them frequently.

I suppose I could have one screen for Power, Cadence, Heart rate, Lap time, and have the other fields I might find interesting on a separate screen. I’m not sure of the layout for 4 screens, even that might be all the same size, and I’d still rather have power and cadence larger than the other two.

Just a suggestion for Garmin that maybe you could pass along for a future firmware update.

For those looking for mapping instructions, I’ve added in an Edge 520 section into my original ‘How to download free maps’ post, which details how you install maps. You’ll find that Edge 520 section here: link to dcrainmaker.com

I generally don’t comment on unannounced products (either way), but as a reference point the Edge 1000 basically just came out early last summer (touch over a year ago), so it wouldn’t make much sense to refresh that.

Meanwhile, I’d classify the Edge 810 as overdue, but feature-wise they’ve been adding in new features every few months (and still are), so usually Garmin doesn’t do that when they plan to release a new product soon.

I’m not sure about the map size yet. It may not be that bad. I’m holding the 520 next to my 800. Screen width is almost identical. Screen height is about 0.75 cm greater on the 800. Map text is slightly crisper on the 520 but I can’t read either while in motion. One difference is that the navigation bar and data fields are on a transparent background on the 800 while on the 520 they’re on a translucent block making the map around the data numerals unreadable. I think I would lose too much real estate with data fields on. I am going to take the 520 out on a preloaded course tomorrow and see how the mapping performs. One downside though. I could immediately brighten the map on the 800 by touching the screen, could just tap it without and precision and it would wake up. Have to go through some button presses on the 520.

On my one ride last night the GPS behaved with precision. I looked at the GPS track on Strava and the only time my track was significantly off road was when it “cut corners”. No more undetected segments.

I don’t know about Strava Routes, but I loaded one of my routes created in Ride With GPS and it worked fine. It was a .tcx file and I dropped it in the Garmin/NewFiles folder, just like I used to with my 800. It showed up under Courses when I checked the 520. I also noticed that when I looked at the Garmin/Courses folder, my route was there and had been changed a .fit file. I hope this helps.

Ofcourse interested in the edge810 FE-C Trainer support. But can you ask Garmin how they see the map support for this device. Al lot of maps are sold only on SD cards today and cannot be used (directly or indirect) on this device. Basecamp has no option to move a (part) of a map delivered on a SD card to an internal device. Special the TOPO maps are nowadays only available in SD card format, when riding MTB these maps contain roads (and tracks) not found in Garmins standard maps or OSM. At the moment i use a few old (8yr) topo maps combined with a pocketPC! in my backpocket but not rugged and hardware will fail soon. I wanted to buy the edge 520 and a new set of topo maps and only save a small part of the map (tile) to the device but this seems to be impossible. Only alternative would be buying an “old” 810 for the same price or wait for a smaller 820 whenever that may come. so basic: can the edge 520 support TOPO maps according to Garmin?

As for maps, I’m pretty sure they don’t really see mapping as a core feature of the Edge 520, else they would have put in a micro-SD slot. And I’m sure to a large degree that’d rather not have people put maps on it and rather them buy more expensive units. Obviously I sorta thwarted those plans.

Thanks for the response. Reading more about it, i think i will skip the 520. Mapping seems to be to limited to be useful for specific maps. I’m happy to spend a little bit more if they bring out the 820 (slightly smaller (edge510 size) and higher resolution screen please) with the same functions of the 520. But fact is you can’t buy things that aren’t for sale. So lets wait for Eurobike

link to buy.garmin.comEdge 520 is the first bike computer that’s compatible with Strava live segments and includes a 3-month trial of Strava Premium. With this membership, your starred Strava segments automatically sync with the 520 for live feedback during your ride. You’ll also get alerts for segment start and finish and leaderboard rankings once you complete the segment.

Can someone help me out here? I’m doing a crossword and I need a 5 letter word for someone that posts sarcastic comments on message boards that bring no value to the original conversation. Starts with a “t”

I have had my garmin 520 for 2 days now and just wanted to share my experience.

I was able to easily replace the base maps with the openstreetmaps per DRM’s instructions. I also linked my account up with Strava via Garmin Connect and was able to download my starred segments to the garmin. Yesterday I did get a segment-leader sync error when the garmin was USB’d to my pc. I managed to get around this by deleting the queued transaction.

One thing I noticed is I did not get 3 months of Strava on my account. I am currently on the last day of premium from a one month trial. I called Garmin and they were not sure but said maybe I need to become a regular user and then connect to Strava from GC. If not I should call back Monday. (I will attempt this tomorrow morning)

I have gone on 2 rides. Not everything went smoothly as I am also recording on my Polar v800 and there were some learning curve items to go through :). I bought a Wahoo TICKR specifically so I could capture HR on both my bluetooth V800 watch and the ant+ garmin 520. The bike sensor I have is also ant+ and bluetooth (Wahoo Blue Speed/Cadence).

My first ride was about 12 miles. It worked great and the Strava segment are amazing. It gives you a warning when you are 500 ft away and subsequently updates the distance until you get the “GO” screen which has the map and the target you are trying to beat. I attempted quite a few and had no issues.

The second ride was about 41 miles. It worked great except for one hiccup. About a mile from my house, I noticed that the garmin had restarted. I got what looked like the startup screen (map loading) and then it went to the activity save/delete screen. I resumed the session and it picked up where it left off. When I downloaded my session, I noticed that the period of time in which it restarted was not recorded. So there is a straight line from when it started the restart and when it came back up. I know I did not ride through a bunch of houses and through people’s lawns. :)

I am assuming it is some stability bug that will be fixed. I noticed I had some values in the error_log file in the debugging folder. I will send this to garmin.

One other quirky thing I noticed. I started the ride this morning and then abandoned it as I spent too much time adjusting my other devices. For a 5 min slow bike, my recovery time was 9 hours.

Would love to hear how other’s garmin 520s are working. Especially if they have seen any issues with stability. Thanks!

Update: My first freeze… I had my garmin 520 hooked up via USB and starred a few segments. I detached the garmin and went to enable all segments via the menu. Once I did this it froze. I had to hold the power button down to get control back. I immediately tried again with the same result. Next I went in to GC and deleted all pending updates in the queue. I synced and tried to enable all segments again. This time it worked. One of the segment updates must have been causing the problem.

Also I did get my 3 month trial. Once my current trial ran out I had the option to get the garmin 520 3 month trial from garmin connect -> segment widget.

Went for my second ride yesterday on a preloaded course. No starred Strava segments appeared. Virtual partner just had my +/- time. I think you get one or the other or else I didn’t set something correctly. Navigation was pretty weak compared to the 800. On the 800 even without baked in turn by turn directions the upcoming intersecting street is displayed. The 520 just gives you a directional heading. This was so useless that I turned it off as I had more map area available to see an upcoming turn. One other quirky thing. I have my wheel size entered manually. Always thought it gave me better distance calibration and ride to ride reproducibility. About a mile into the ride I got a screen popup that automatic wheel calibration was successful. I stopped and went back in the menu to make sure I selected manual size which I had. Interested to know what that was about.

So I figured out the wheel calibration pop up. I have a Powertap wheel and never realized there was a wheel size entry for this. I then looked at the options under sensor and automatic had been checked. It calculated it to 2008 and I had a manual entry of 2010 under my GSC10 speed sensor. I’m curious which one the 520 used. Not that it’s a big difference as over a century this should amount to 0.1 miles.

The Garmin Edge 520 is my first Garmin bike computer without bike profiles. I like the idea of a pool of sensors and that i don’t have to make sure that the correct bike profile is selected before each ride. For people with multiple bikes, i am sure it has happened at some point that they have forgotten to select the correct bike profile and ended up missing power/cadence data. But there is one good thing about bike profile, other than keeping track of odometer for each bike, is if you are sharing a speed sensor with multiple bikes like i do, you don’t have to change the wheel size for the speed sensor each time you switch bike (assuming the wheel sizes are different). As it is now, if i want move the speed sensor from a bike with 700x23c to one with 700x32c, i will need to wake up the speed sensor, go into the sensor menu, select the speed sensor and change the wheel size. Naturally, if you let the device automatically calculate the wheel size, you don’t have to go through all these steps.

as an aside……..Every time I put my Garmin away and see in my drawer my Motoactv I cannot help but think they could have had it all….I mean a couple different form factors just like garmin and the motoactv could have owned the market…….so sad there was no foresight or commitment there.

oh well life moves on..someday someone will put out the perfect be everything to everyone units depending on the size you want

I like the non-touchscreen actually. My 510 is always covered with smudges, making it hard to read when the sun is hitting it just so. Plus, my big lanky hands seem to have problems hitting the right button.

Thanks for making very thorough postings on your site. I had an edge 810 that kept on freezing. Garmin replaced it with another edge 810 that also kept on freezing.Needless to say I have lost faith in garmin products. After reading you review on the edge 520, I decided to pick one up.